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The Tides at Orleans Marina

New Orleans, Louisiana

The Tides at Orleans Marina is a luxury waterfront condominium development located on Pontchartrain Boulevard in New Orleans.  Four three-story quads, each containing four units, have private, covered parking spaces on the ground floor underneath the buildings.

The 2-bedroom, 2-1/2 bath units have an open floor plan with 1,750 sf of living space.  All units feature private balconies on the first and second floors, walls of windows and premium finishes throughout.  Private elevators bring residents directly to their first floor living room or second floor master bedrooms.  An outdoor amenity area features a relaxing pool and landscaped greenspace.

St. Paul’s Catholic Life Center

Covington, Louisiana

The New Parish Center for St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in New Orleans will house the Church Office, Meeting Rooms, Classrooms, and the Church Hall.

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.

Boulder, Colorado Residence

Boulder, Colorado

This home in Boulder, Colorado was designed to reflect the character of the Rockies and the client’s Louisiana roots, while retaining the studio built on the property by the previous owner, a film director.

After demolition of the original house at the front of the property, the rear studio became the main house, per Boulder Zoning ordinances requiring that any new structure to be connected via enclosed space. The design of an enclosed 85’ lap pool, connecting the studio to the new residence, resolved the requirement.

Spatial needs were four bedrooms, 4.5 baths, and open space for cooking, dining and leisurely gatherings, with other amenities for daily needs. The owner’s appreciation for stone and reclaimed lumber established the materials palette for the exterior and interior.

The clients wished for privacy from the front with no transparent views of interior spaces from the street; therefore, expansive open glazing was not allowed. Rear transparency from interior to exterior was requisite to enjoy the beautiful landscape design at the rear of the property, with mature producing fruit trees, perennial and annuals plantings, evergreens and pathways. Mature shade trees were retained and complemented by the new residence’s orientation.

The rear film studio was converted into a guest house. The existing conference room was converted to a master bedroom, in which the owners resided during construction, and three guest rooms within the existing footprint of the studio garage / film storage. The existing studio had 25kw of solar panels, reactivated to serve the pool pavilion and new residence.

Photographer:  PJ van Schalkwyk

Covington, Louisiana Residence

Covington, Louisiana

Drawing from Colonial Indo-China influences, yet rooted in the Louisiana vernacular, this new residence in Old Covington fuses traditional and contemporary influences to satisfy the diverse tastes of the professional client couple. The couple requested a modern, open plan within a traditional setting to accommodate frequent entertainment and large family gatherings, as well as being the hub of social activity for the clients’ son and his friends.

The orientation of discrete parts of the house – living areas, bedroom, guest room, attached master cottage – exhibits a centrifugal motion that allows programmatic flexibility while maintaining the formal notion of the whole. Careful attention was given to provide views of other parts of the house from any vantage point. The architect used standard building materials – architectural asphalt shingles and metal roofing, as well as a combination of board-and-batten with horizontal siding – all carefully articulated to present a harmonious balance of textures, scale, and materials.

VergeRome Architects’ use and strategic placement of “floating walls” provides separation of spaces, yet allows the floor plan and volume of space to remain open.  Natural lighting was a key factor in the clients’ program. The use of clerestory windows throughout the main body of the house provides a beautiful fusion of natural light during daylight hours. The clerestory openings allow light to diffuse through the Dining Room and Library and beyond the floating walls, thus providing low ambient illumination in these spaces during the day (natural lighting) and during the evening (artificial lighting).

Finally, to better serve the clients’ active lifestyles, both professionally and personally, and their commitment to exercise and physical fitness, a home office area, a library/study space and a home fitness area were intricately woven into the layout of the house.

The Penthouses at Mid City Center

New Orleans, Louisiana

The Penthouses at Mid City Center is a 13,500 SF, third-story addition to the existing, fully occupied Mid City Center building. Seven luxury rental apartments were created, with high-end finishes and balcony views of the city. Two existing stairs were extended and an elevator was added.

The property features secure entry for residents, with private elevator access and a gated parking lot with reserved parking. There are five 2-bedroom units and two 1-bedroom units, ranging from 1,025 SF to 1,598 SF each.

Ochsner Lake Terrace Medical Office Building

New Orleans, Louisiana

VergesRome Architects is working with the Ochsner Health System to expand their existing presence in New Orleans and bring a high-quality healthcare facility to the Lake Terrace neighborhood, in an area that until now has lacked comprehensive healthcare facilities.

The new, three-story, 57,000 sf medical office building will house a medical clinic for full-time obstetrics, pediatrics and internal medicine as well as other vital specialties on a rotating basis. The first floor of the building will also include a full-service imaging center, lab and retail pharmacy.

LSU Dental School and Health Sciences Campus Renovation

New Orleans, Louisiana

The 25-acre campus of the LSU Dental School in New Orleans sustained severe flood and wind damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Eighteen buildings, over 500,000 SF, were completely shut down. Basements and first floors housing critical equipment, and first floor dental operatories were flooded. The extended loss of environmental controls exacerbated rampant mold growth extending beyond the height of the floodwaters, requiring thorough environmental testing and extensive remediation throughout the campus.

A multi-phase approach to restoring the Dental School facilities was adopted by the joint venture team of VergesRome Architects and Mathes Brierre Architects. The project management plan, incorporating intense strategic planning and coordination with FEMA, was critical due to the size and complexity of the Project and maintaining full occupancy of the upper floors of the buildings throughout construction. The team worked closely with FEMA, from initial storm damage assessments and Project Worksheet scope alignment, to emergency projects for occupancy within months of the storm, to analysis and design of mitigation method options and dry/wet floodproofing measures for all campus facilities.

A new, raised, two-story Annex Building of approximately 65,000 SF was designed to house operations that previously occupied the basements and first floors of the Administration, Physical Plant, and Clinic Buildings. Affected operations mitigated included Central Sterilization, shipping and receiving operations, public reception and dental care facilities, student teaching/training facilities, and housekeeping facilities. Other facilities destroyed by the flood event, including animal research and care facilities, were also mitigated as part of the $76,000,000 project.

St. Tammany Parish Safe Haven

Covington, Louisiana

Southeast Louisiana Hospital in Mandeville closed their doors in 2012, removing access to mental and behavioral health to the area, and has remained unoccupied since that time. In 2016, after years of research and planning, the St Tammany Parish Government took the next step to turn this facility into Safe Haven, to provide Behavioral Health Services to the community of southeast Louisiana.

The facility strives to decriminalize the ideas of behavioral health and ease the misuse of correctional and emergency facilities to provide the services needed.

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