Education | Categories | VergesRome Architects | New Orleans Architectural Firm

Benet Hall at Saint Joseph Abbey + Seminary College

St. Benedict, Louisiana

Benet Hall consisted of a historic renovation and restoration of a 1960 Mid-Century Modern Theater for Saint Joseph Abbey + Seminary College, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It stands as a testament to theological education, nurturing both students and seminarians alike, fostering their intellectual and spiritual growth.

The building underwent a transformative renovation in response to various significant factors: a catastrophic flood in 2016, a notable increase in enrollment in 2009, and long-term deferred maintenance. In response, our team sensitively addressed all storm-related damages while reimagining the space to better reflect the institution’s mission.

Built in the late 1950’s and recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, the thea

ter was thoughtfully restored to now accommodate academic lectures, musical performances, graduations, and other events while honoring its original architectural details. Additionally, the space was strategically reimagined to include expanded restrooms to meet current plumbing codes, an expanded lobby, creation of a new gift shop / monastic museum, and a welcome center for visitors.

Coordination with regulatory authorities was crucial, as the theater qualified for federal and state historic tax credit programs. By preserving the original mid-century campus features, we have not only returned the space to its intended use but also enhanced its functionality and restored its historic significance.

Benet Hall is the recipient of the 2024 AIA New Orleans Design Award for Adaptive Reuse / Renovation.

Tulane University James W. Wilson Center

New Orleans, Louisiana

VergesRome Architects provided architectural design services for the Phase 2 renovations of the James W. Wilson Center, home to Tulane University’s football program on the Uptown New Orleans Campus. This strategic interior renovation focused on modernizing key athletic and administrative spaces to better support recruiting, training, and day-to-day operations.

Central to the scope was the reorientation and renovation of the football team meeting room — a high-use space reimagined for better functionality and comfort. The upgrade introduced theater-style seating to create a more ergonomic and professional atmosphere for team meetings.

The existing football offices received comprehensive enhancements, including new carpet, fresh paint, updated ceiling systems, lighting improvements, and new furnishings. The layout of the offices remained unchanged to maintain operational continuity, with balcony access preserved as originally designed.

The Head Coach’s office was renovated to reflect the leadership role it represents. The space was updated with new furnishings, enhanced technology and A/V capabilities, and an improved private restroom, creating a more polished and functional environment that also supports recruiting efforts. The main reception area was transformed into a designated recruiting space, creating a welcoming first impression for prospective student-athletes and their families.

These focused renovations represent a significant investment in the program’s continued growth and success, blending thoughtful design with practical upgrades that reflect Tulane Athletics’ commitment to excellence.

Tulane University Football Lockerroom

New Orleans, Louisiana

Our transformation of the Tulane University Football Locker Room aimed to elevate and align the team’s off-field environment to match its on-field expertise. Our focus was on modernizing the locker room with new state-of-the-art ventilated lockers, ensuring all sports gear stays dry and air quality is the best it can be.

To achieve this level of airflow, the locker room was outfitted with enough mechanical power to move an Olympic swimming pool of air every seven minutes!

Additionally, the hydrotherapy room was upgraded and equipped with new hot and cold plunge pools along¬side a cutting-edge unweighting treadmill, facilitating athlete recov¬ery in an anti-gravity setting. These enhancements bring Tulane University’s athletic recovery program up to par with national standards, setting the stage for continued success in the years ahead.

Pere Rouquette Library at Saint Joseph Abbey + Seminary College

St. Benedict, Louisiana

Saint Joseph Seminary College’s enrollment has significantly increased in recent years, creating a demand for updated housing and academic upgrades. To accommodate this growth, Rouquette Library needed a new home to make possible the return of Savio Hall, where Rouquette Library once resided, to its original function as a student residence.

The site for the new library was carefully selected in a location that does not disrupt the current mid-century modern master plan of the campus, and places it in a location that visitors can access without compromising the private sectors of the campus. The site selected was the former swimming pool site.

The building was designed with three stories, with the ground floor used as exterior covered space for activities with easy access to other activities on the campus. The elevated structure not only reflects the elevated design of nearby Pius X Hall, but also offers protection for the seminary’s book collection in the event of flooding. The second floor houses the main collection with faculty resources for research, writing, and reading. The third floor provides collaborative student space along with two conference rooms for small lectures and meetings. The third floor will also house the library’s collection of bound serials and offer extended hours, until 10:00 p.m., each evening.

In addition, as the seminarians love the views of their campus, the new library design provides a nearly 360-degree panorama of the entire campus.

John McDonogh School Renovations

New Orleans, Louisiana

The John McDonogh School building is located at 2426 Esplanade Ave.  The main three-story, 92,000 SF school opened in the early 1900’s.  The solid masonry structure with decorative plaster trim began an extensive renovation in February of 2017.  The school is currently being renovated inside and out to serve as an Kindergarten through 8th grade.

Exterior renovations include a complete refurbishment of all exterior wood windows, tuckpointing of all mortar joints, installing new masonry ties to mitigate cracking of solid masonry walls, cleaning of masonry and installing a clear breathable water repellent.  All decorative plaster trim and cornices, including the plaster entrance façade, are being refurbished and painted.  The art glass windows at the front entrance are being refurbished to match the original art glass windows as closely as possible.

The ground floor was completely demolished and redesigned to create 14 Classrooms to accommodate Kindergarten through 3rd grade, as well as an Art Room, Offices and Conference Room.  Also located on the ground floor is a full-service kitchen.

Original classroom configurations were kept where possible on the 2nd and 3rd floors. The 2nd floor also contains administrative offices and a 450-seat Auditorium that has been refurbished to restore the original coffered ceilings.  The 3rd floor provides Classrooms, Media Center, Science Lab, Music and Art Rooms. Finishes throughout the Main Building have been replaced.

The existing Gymnasium has been demolished and replaced with a new state-of-the-art 22,000 SF Gymnasium and will accommodate new locker rooms, a Maker Lab and Health Lab. The project will be LEED-Certified.

New Orleans Charter Science and Mathematics High School (SciHigh)

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans Science and Mathematics High School, also known as Sci High, offers specialized instruction in science, math, and technology, and provides an open door to any interested New Orleans high school student. The school now serves more than 450 students, expects to serve 600 to 700 students as it continues to grow, and has outgrown its current location in a former elementary school building.

In 2020, Sci High will move into a new facility designed by VergesRome Architects specifically to support their coursework and mission. The facility will be fully ADA accessible and will include specialty labs for biomedical, health, engineering and skilled crafts courses to support the school’s emphasis on rigorous STEM courses. The new facility is located one block from the Lafitte Greenway and two blocks from the new biomedical corridor.

Due to the small site size, the school is designed with an elevated gymnasium to allow space below for parking and playground space.

St. Charles Catholic High School Renovations

LaPlace, Louisiana

The Additions and Renovations to St. Charles Catholic High School in LaPlace involved a major exterior face lift to the main school building, a pre-engineered metal structure constructed in 1977. The exterior renovations replaced the old blue metal siding with brick, stucco and aluminum storefront windows.

The Entry Addition brought prominence to the nondescript school entrance. The 1,400 SF Entry Addition includes a brick and cast stone entry portal, a vestibule, a conference room immediately off the vestibule, and added a new computer lab. The polished terrazzo floors of the vestibule extend into the main lobby and to the school administrative offices. The conference room, which seats 20 people, was designed to accommodate faculty and school board meetings and replaces the school’s only conference room which had been converted into faculty offices.

The Commons Expansion added 1,850 SF of café style seating to the cafeteria and includes a tower dedicated to the memory of Lt. Col. Robert J. Hymel, an alumni of St. Charles Borromeo High School and a decorated Vietnam War veteran killed in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. A new presentation wall displays the school’s state trophies and is the backdrop for the Quarterback Club and other meetings.

The 126-seat 2,500 SF stand-alone Chapel is designed for celebration of the Mass by an entire grade level and for the football team’s pre-game Mass. The new chapel’s site was positioned in the heart of the campus.

The gymnasium was also renovated, receiving a new court surface, new goals and bleachers, a new audio/visual system, and a new white perforated acoustical metal ceiling and LED lighting.

Southern University at New Orleans, College of Education and Human Development Building

New Orleans, Louisiana

The new 49,700 square foot building for the College of Education and Human Development is part of Southern University at New Orleans’ post-Hurricane Katrina development of the SUNO Lake Campus. Now under construction, it will join the existing Faculty and Student Housing (designed by the Joint Venture team of VergesRome Architects and Bani Carville & Brown Architects), the School of Business, the Business Incubator, the IT Building, and the new School of Social Work Building on the University’s Lake Campus.

The College of Education Building will provide a permanent home to the Education curriculum which was displaced to modular classroom buildings since late 2005. The new building will allow expansion of the curriculum and enhancement of the Education program through the addition of a Head Start Program and an Early Childhood Development Center. As the last of the buildings planned for the Lake Campus, the exterior materials and color palette for the College of Education Building are selected to blend with and complement the exteriors of the surrounding campus structures. As the public face of the Lake Campus, the building’s front façade will address Leon C. Simon Boulevard and its position will define the southeastern corner of the campus quadrangle.

The building will provide classroom and laboratory space for approximately 600 adult students, a learning environment for 81 children from ages 18 months to 5 years old, and offices for a faculty of nearly 40. In addition to typical classrooms for 15 to 30 students, the classroom spaces will include an 80-seat auditorium, three interconnected classrooms, one nutrition classroom with a residential demonstration kitchen, and three classrooms with observation rooms with one-way glass. A TV Studio is provided to record and broadcast lectures for distance and online learning.

For the safety and security of the children attending the Head Start and Early Childhood Development Centers, a separate entrance and parking area are provided. Each of the children’s centers will have three age-specific classrooms, a spacious indoor play area, a separate fenced outdoor play yard, and a central warming kitchen will serve meals from the University’s commissary for the children in these Centers.

Vianney Hall at Saint Joseph Abbey + Seminary College

BENEDICT, LA

VergesRome Architects was retained by Saint Joseph Abbey and Seminary College to assist with their Strategic Plan, looking ahead to the next 100 years for the monastery and seminary. VRA focused on campus facilities, both existing and previously planned, and site planning. Delineating and protecting the private cloistered areas of the Monastery and Seminary College was very important, as the campus also contains public areas such as the Abbey Church, Christian Life Center, Benet Hall Auditorium, and Rouquette Library.

Seminary buildings on the wooded campus are notable examples of the mid-century Regional Modernism style exemplified by the architect, New Orleans’ Lawrence and Saunders. The mission was to preserve the seminary buildings’ unique architectural character, make them more energy efficient and suited for contemporary use, and attract more seminary candidates through the availability of modern facilities with desired amenities.

New HVAC systems in all seminary buildings were a high priority. A new Central Plant Building housing the Chiller System was constructed as part of the $4.1 million Vianney Hall renovation to service five seminary buildings totaling 103,000 SF.

Vianney Hall, a 1960 dormitory used for 40 years as a storage building, underwent full renovation, returning to its originally intended use, completed February 2014. One of three adjacent mirror-image buildings that form three sides of a revitalized Quadrangle green space, Vianney Hall’s renovation is Phase One of the Campus Strategic Plan program that creates an academic nucleus on campus with a serene outdoor quad and separates cloistered portions of the campus from public and semi-public areas.

The 20,000 SF, two-story dormitory building is now a modern residence hall with 40 one-bedroom units, each with a private bath, two Dorm Deans’ suites, and common areas, including a Lobby on the first floor and Prayer Room on the second floor. Built-in, custom dorm room furnishings were designed by VRA.

2018 AIA Louisiana Award of Merit

Cabrini High School Gymnasium Building Renovation

New Orleans, Louisiana

For Cabrini High School in New Orleans, VergesRome Architects designed the expansion of the existing gymnasium building, which will also include new classrooms and a black box theatre.

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