Whether it be a single-family home or an entire development with residential and commercial components, virtually every project has its beginnings in a sketch. Literally or virtually, architects put pen to paper to breathe early life into what was previously only a dream or a discussion. When all is said and done, how close is the rendering to reality? Baton Rouge architectural firm Remson | Haley | Herpin shares the before and after images of three of its major projects.
OneEleven
This was the first ground-up residential project built in downtown Baton Rouge in more than forty years. It offers 12 residential units on floors two through four and commercial tenant space on the first floor. Although small, the project sets an example of what can be achieved using infill sites, alternative building programming and creative design solutions to solve the unique problems associated with urban redevelopment. As a result, the project asserts a unique identity and experience within a dense and varied context. The project offers housing units with a price tag aimed at young professionals in the arts and entertainment district as well as the business districts.
Baton Rouge High School
A passionate group of residents and alumni joined to save this obsolete high school from certain demolition. The challenge for the architects: Expand the campus from 100,000 square feet to 300,000 square feet while preserving the landlocked 1927 structure with minimal visual alteration. In keeping with the theme of enhancing the visual and performing arts programs, a service drive was replaced by a new outdoor stage that shares the backstage of the existing theater. The surrounding space is now a courtyard ringed by the original building to the south and new structures to the north, east and west, making it the physical and figurative heart of the new campus.
The Sanderson residence
In the 1920’s Addison Mizner’s Palm Beach Style—an eclectic blend of Latin American, Venetian and Spanish Mediterranean architecture—became the rage among the wealthy industrialists trying to create an expression of easy living that only wealth and taste can provide. Although the Great Depression brought an end to this brief period, this style of architecture, typically referred to as simply Mediterranean has remained a standard for those wishing to capture that resort feeling for their new estates. This particular home—built on acreage at the confluence of the three rivers—pays homage to that style. Its owners began the process of creating their Mediterranean estate by embarking on a trip to Europe, where they purchased an eclectic assortment of furnishings and building materials; the architects began the design process with the idea of creating places for each of these pieces. From the castle door and the wine barrels in the wine room, the large trumeau over the fireplace in the living room, the statue in the front courtyard niche, and the granite altar in the foyer of the exercise building, each of these pieces are artifacts from the places that this style originated.
