The beautiful, vibrant, and historically rich city of New Orleans hosted residential architect's seventh annual Reinvention Symposium Dec. 6-8. Among the approximately 200 residential practitioners who gathered at the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, the prevailing mood was one of perseverance in the face of persistent challenges accompanied by a desire to find new paths to success. Increasingly, successful service to the residential client will require architects to devise different strategies for meeting each unique set of needs. But how best to provide value to clients while preserving one's commitment to design excellence and respect for the environment? Reinvention 2010 was produced to help residential architects answer these questions with directly relevant sessions and panel discussions.
Kicking off the week was the housing tour, which traveled to six diverse residential projects around the city—ranging from the Lower Ninth Ward and Holy Cross neighborhoods to downtown New Orleans and the Garden District—that both pleased and provoked dialogue among attendees.
The conference began with a keynote from Brigitte Shim, FRAIC, Hon. FAIA, of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, followed by panels and sessions delivered by James Brown, AIA, Public Architecture and Planning; Jeffrey L. Day, AIA, and E.B. Min, AIA, Min|Day; Tim Duggan, Make It Right Foundation; Steve Dumez, FAIA, Eskew+Dumez+Ripple; Anne Fougeron, FAIA, Fougeron Architecture; Joeb Moore, AIA, Joeb Moore + Partners, Architects; Byron Mouton, AIA, BILD Design and professor of practice, Tulane Architecture School; David Prutting, Prutting & Co. Custom Builders; Suzane Reatig, FAIA, LEED AP, Suzane Reatig Architecture; James Schwartz, editor-in-chief, Preservation magazine; Dan Shipley, FAIA, Shipley Architects; Linda Stone, Global Green USA; Harry Teague, AIA, Harry Teague Architects; Wayne Troyer, AIA, Studio WTA; Dennis Wedlick, AIA, Dennis Wedlick Architect; and Marcel Wisznia, AIA, Wisznia Architecture + Development and president-elect, AIA New Orleans.
Video of the keynote, as well as each panel discussion and breakout session, soon will be available for viewing through Hanley Wood University. Meanwhile, ra's editors offer their reports on conference sessions. Click the article links in the column at right.
