[USA] Trahan Architects

jparchitectus · 22-08-2005

Space and light and order
by Hal Cohen

Town, the Crowley native and champion of vernacular Louisiana building styles, had helped design Crowley's Bank of Commerce. (Donald Breaux of Lafayette was the architect of record.) Although it is a late 20th-century building, the bank is loyally traditional, complete with pitched slate roof, wide porch and white columns.

The First National Bank of Crowley, the Bank of Commerce's cross-town rival, decided to commission a progressive, contemporary response. They hired Trahan, who is also from Crowley. The boldly geometrical design he offered is a transparent blue glass cube capped with an even bluer pyramidal roof, rotated 45 degrees off the structure below.

It is certainly no Hays Town.

Trahan's design vocabulary is starkly contemporary, but it also harkens back to the early days of less-is-more Bauhaus purism. His restrained use of materials tends towards cool cast-in-place concrete, transparent sheet glass and smooth, warm woods. His buildings give respectful nods to architects including Wright and Le Corbusier, Mies and Gropius, Aalto and Ando.

Like their work, Trahan's designs are serene and austere but also accessible. And unlike much of present-day architecture, they are not flashy, nostalgic or smugly clever.

Trahan graduated from LSU with an undergrad architecture degree in 1983 and soon after joined the Baton Rouge office of Clements, Blanchard & Holmes. Amidst the economic downturn of the late-1980s, CBH began shedding employees. So in 1987 Trahan and another CBH architect, Tom Holden, set up the Holden-Trahan Group. Holden was the technical and design half, while Trahan focused on the business side.

But soon Trahan was feeling itchy. "The more I learned about the profession, the more I became intrigued with the design side," he says. "I decided I really wanted to push progressive design."

Trahan founded his own firm in 1991 with a staff of four. Today, the firm has grown to 11. Trahan heads the design team and architect Jerry Blanchard--the "B" of CBH--handles the technical work. Working with them are seven intern architects and two administrative staffers.

Trahan worked diligently to build the firm, using two basic strategies. One was partnering with better-known firms and piggybacking on their names to land jobs. The other was seeking contracts for programming and master-planning work, getting a foot in the door for more lucrative design commissions.

"One of the great things about not having a lot of work is that you have a lot of time to go out and get work," he notes.

Trahan Architects had early success with the Crowley bank, which won a regional American Institute of Architects award. But the project that really marked the firm's arrival was the $3 million St. Jean Vianney Catholic Church on Harrells Ferry Road, which was completed in 1999.

"Le Corbusier said, 'Creating is a patient search,'" Trahan muses. "I really learned that on St. Jean Vianney. It requires time and patience to get to the essence of a problem and to create something that responds."

The structure is a smooth and serene meditation in concrete. The floor is an octagon, with pews facing the center. Its glass walls are embraced by continuous louvers, stacked like bookshelves.

St. Jean Vianney won the firm its first national AIA award, placing it in the company of contemporary luminaries such as Richard Meier, Steven Holl and Cesar Pelli.

Meanwhile, Trahan developed a number of relationships with university athletic programs. That led to contracts for the LSU Academic Center for Athletes, both upper decks of Tiger Stadium and planning and design work at Auburn, Oklahoma State and Southern Miss.

The firm also won a design competition last year for a huge bio-tech research park in Beijing and is designing retail and loft space to adjoin the Shaw Center.

Trahan Architects does not make its revenues public, but architects typically earn fees equal to about 8% or 10% of a commercial project's cost. At any given time, the firm is working on several multi-million-dollar projects. The fees for Tiger Stadium's west deck alone were likely about $5 million.

But while the firm makes its bread and butter on football venues and is occasionally allowed to really dig into a religious building's design, the big question remains: Can Trahan sell residential and commercial clients on progressive design?

"For years we all used the public as an excuse--me included," he says. "But it requires educating them. We need to explain not only why it meets their basic needs, but also why it will stand the test of time. If you have rational reasons for what you're doing and the design decisions have deeper meanings, clients will be accepting. They will even get excited about it."

Total employees: 11

Year founded: 1991

Accomplishments: Progressive architecture around Baton Rouge that is both highly visible (Tiger Stadium) and award-winning (St. Jean Vianney, Church of the Holy Rosary), as well as projects across the Gulf South and even one in China.

jparchitectus · 22-08-2005

I recently found this project. As a result I looked into these architects and the work they produce.

The Holy Rosary Church Complex, outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is composed of five parts: an administrative block, two linear classroom bars, a religious education bar, and a square chapel in a courtyard formed by the first four (click for plan). Trahan Architects designed this last part as the focus of the orthogonal composition, itself skewed towards an opening that links the chapel to the community beyond.

PS-On first glimpse these appear to be renderings, reminded me of something bakbek would do...but they are the real thing!

jparchitectus · 22-08-2005

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jparchitectus · 22-08-2005

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jparchitectus · 22-08-2005

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jparchitectus · 22-08-2005

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jparchitectus · 22-08-2005

Nice plan

jparchitectus · 22-08-2005

trahanarchitects

sigue2000 · 12-09-2005

Very nice post JP!

primocordara · 12-09-2005

I also thought that Bakbek was back again with something!

Here it is, low-res I'm afraid, but still useful for driving there...

22-08-2005	#1
jparchitectus PushPullBar Permanent Fixture Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: New York Posts: 5,250 Country:	[USA] Trahan Architects Space and light and order by Hal Cohen Town, the Crowley native and champion of vernacular Louisiana building styles, had helped design Crowley's Bank of Commerce. (Donald Breaux of Lafayette was the architect of record.) Although it is a late 20th-century building, the bank is loyally traditional, complete with pitched slate roof, wide porch and white columns. The First National Bank of Crowley, the Bank of Commerce's cross-town rival, decided to commission a progressive, contemporary response. They hired Trahan, who is also from Crowley. The boldly geometrical design he offered is a transparent blue glass cube capped with an even bluer pyramidal roof, rotated 45 degrees off the structure below. It is certainly no Hays Town. Trahan's design vocabulary is starkly contemporary, but it also harkens back to the early days of less-is-more Bauhaus purism. His restrained use of materials tends towards cool cast-in-place concrete, transparent sheet glass and smooth, warm woods. His buildings give respectful nods to architects including Wright and Le Corbusier, Mies and Gropius, Aalto and Ando. Like their work, Trahan's designs are serene and austere but also accessible. And unlike much of present-day architecture, they are not flashy, nostalgic or smugly clever. Trahan graduated from LSU with an undergrad architecture degree in 1983 and soon after joined the Baton Rouge office of Clements, Blanchard & Holmes. Amidst the economic downturn of the late-1980s, CBH began shedding employees. So in 1987 Trahan and another CBH architect, Tom Holden, set up the Holden-Trahan Group. Holden was the technical and design half, while Trahan focused on the business side. But soon Trahan was feeling itchy. "The more I learned about the profession, the more I became intrigued with the design side," he says. "I decided I really wanted to push progressive design." Trahan founded his own firm in 1991 with a staff of four. Today, the firm has grown to 11. Trahan heads the design team and architect Jerry Blanchard--the "B" of CBH--handles the technical work. Working with them are seven intern architects and two administrative staffers. Trahan worked diligently to build the firm, using two basic strategies. One was partnering with better-known firms and piggybacking on their names to land jobs. The other was seeking contracts for programming and master-planning work, getting a foot in the door for more lucrative design commissions. "One of the great things about not having a lot of work is that you have a lot of time to go out and get work," he notes. Trahan Architects had early success with the Crowley bank, which won a regional American Institute of Architects award. But the project that really marked the firm's arrival was the $3 million St. Jean Vianney Catholic Church on Harrells Ferry Road, which was completed in 1999. "Le Corbusier said, 'Creating is a patient search,'" Trahan muses. "I really learned that on St. Jean Vianney. It requires time and patience to get to the essence of a problem and to create something that responds." The structure is a smooth and serene meditation in concrete. The floor is an octagon, with pews facing the center. Its glass walls are embraced by continuous louvers, stacked like bookshelves. St. Jean Vianney won the firm its first national AIA award, placing it in the company of contemporary luminaries such as Richard Meier, Steven Holl and Cesar Pelli. Meanwhile, Trahan developed a number of relationships with university athletic programs. That led to contracts for the LSU Academic Center for Athletes, both upper decks of Tiger Stadium and planning and design work at Auburn, Oklahoma State and Southern Miss. The firm also won a design competition last year for a huge bio-tech research park in Beijing and is designing retail and loft space to adjoin the Shaw Center. Trahan Architects does not make its revenues public, but architects typically earn fees equal to about 8% or 10% of a commercial project's cost. At any given time, the firm is working on several multi-million-dollar projects. The fees for Tiger Stadium's west deck alone were likely about $5 million. But while the firm makes its bread and butter on football venues and is occasionally allowed to really dig into a religious building's design, the big question remains: Can Trahan sell residential and commercial clients on progressive design? "For years we all used the public as an excuse--me included," he says. "But it requires educating them. We need to explain not only why it meets their basic needs, but also why it will stand the test of time. If you have rational reasons for what you're doing and the design decisions have deeper meanings, clients will be accepting. They will even get excited about it." Total employees: 11 Year founded: 1991 Accomplishments: Progressive architecture around Baton Rouge that is both highly visible (Tiger Stadium) and award-winning (St. Jean Vianney, Church of the Holy Rosary), as well as projects across the Gulf South and even one in China. __________________ need info on an architect - click here or like firefighting

22-08-2005	#2
jparchitectus PushPullBar Permanent Fixture Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: New York Posts: 5,250 Country:	I recently found this project. As a result I looked into these architects and the work they produce. The Holy Rosary Church Complex, outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is composed of five parts: an administrative block, two linear classroom bars, a religious education bar, and a square chapel in a courtyard formed by the first four (click for plan). Trahan Architects designed this last part as the focus of the orthogonal composition, itself skewed towards an opening that links the chapel to the community beyond. PS-On first glimpse these appear to be renderings, reminded me of something bakbek would do...but they are the real thing! Attached Images __________________ need info on an architect - click here or like firefighting Last edited by jparchitectus; 22-08-2005 at 21:45..

22-08-2005	#3
jparchitectus PushPullBar Permanent Fixture Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: New York Posts: 5,250 Country:	Image - 2 Attached Images __________________ need info on an architect - click here or like firefighting

22-08-2005	#4
jparchitectus PushPullBar Permanent Fixture Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: New York Posts: 5,250 Country:	Image - 3 Attached Images __________________ need info on an architect - click here or like firefighting

22-08-2005	#5
jparchitectus PushPullBar Permanent Fixture Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: New York Posts: 5,250 Country:	Image - 4 Attached Images __________________ need info on an architect - click here or like firefighting

22-08-2005	#6
jparchitectus PushPullBar Permanent Fixture Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: New York Posts: 5,250 Country:	Image - 5 Attached Images __________________ need info on an architect - click here or like firefighting

22-08-2005	#7
jparchitectus PushPullBar Permanent Fixture Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: New York Posts: 5,250 Country:	Nice plan Attached Images __________________ need info on an architect - click here or like firefighting

22-08-2005	#8
jparchitectus PushPullBar Permanent Fixture Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: New York Posts: 5,250 Country:	trahanarchitects __________________ need info on an architect - click here or like firefighting

12-09-2005	#9
sigue2000 Super Moderator Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Aachen Posts: 2,564 Country:	Very nice post JP! __________________ Out here on the perimeter there are no stars.

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