Carey Clouse/Photo © Harry Connelly St. Joseph Rebuild Center Detroit Collaborative Design Center / Photo courtesy St. Joseph Rebuild Center |
Phillis Wheatley Elementary School / Courtesy World Monuments Fund Special House No. 9 / Courtesy Make It Right Cochon / Courtesy Tulane School of Architecture |
Carey Clouse, AIA, holds a BArch from the University of Oregon and a post-professional degree in architecture and urbanism from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (SMArchS). She is currently an adjunct assistant professor of Architecture at Tulane University, as well as a practicing architect and co-partner of CrookedWorks Architecture in New Orleans. Clouse currently serves on the boards of the Association for Community Design, the Community Built Association, Transport for NOLA, and the Broad Community Connections Design Review.
Best New Architecture
The St. Joseph Rebuild Center
“The St. Joseph Rebuild Center is a public-interest design project by local architect Wayne Troyer and the Detroit Collaborative Design Center. Located near the city center, this project is a series of trailers and decks that provide services for homeless and displaced New Orleanians. The center received the NCARB Prize and the Rudy Brunner Award in 2009.”
Best Historic Architecture
“New Orleans quietly engages one of the finest collections of historic buildings in the nation, incorporating these celebrated buildings without much fanfare. In the French Quarter, the garden district, and even in the many working class neighborhoods throughout the city, it will be tough to miss this incredible protected resource. However, New Orleans is also home to an extraordinary collection of mid-century modern buildings, many currently threatened by post-Katrina rebuilding and development.”
Phillis Wheatley Elementary School
“The Phillis Wheatley Elementary School in the 7th ward — a World Monuments Fund recipient designed by Charles Colbert in 1954 — which is slated for demolition this year.”
“If you want to see more mid-century modern building in New Orleans, take a ride on the Canal St. streetcar, or go to Docomomo New Orleans
for a more extensive list.”
Best “Off-the-Beaten-Path” Architecture
The 9th Ward
“The entire city of New Orleans faced devastating losses in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but few areas endured such concentrated destruction as the 9th Ward. A tour of the 9th Ward reveals streets with the faint memories of former houses, desolate landscapes and a meager nine-percent rebuilding rate. Once there, check out Brad Pitt's Make It Right glam housing development and the Bayou Bienvenue overlook of a dying cypress swamp.”
Best Museums and Galleries
“Julia St. Arts District In the museum district downtown, you can easily walk between large contemporary art museums and small-scale galleries. Julia St. features the largest concentration of local art talent in New Orleans, and along with the nearby Contemporary Arts Center and Ogden Museum of Southern Art, represents a thriving art scene in the heart of the Crescent City. On Thursday nights, the Ogden offers afterhours music and drinks.”
Best Drinking, Dining, and Shopping
“The full length of Magazine street, some 50 blocks extending uptown, features great window shopping, clothing, antiques, art, and crafts.”
“Lillette, La Petite Grocery, and Baru Bistro are all within walking distance of the St. Charles streetcar line."
“Cochon and its sidekick Cochon Butcher serve up Southern fare in a space designed by local architects David Gregor and Irene Keil. My favorite new restaurant, Boucherie, supports local growers and regional favorites, and it’s located just a block from the St. Charles streetcar line uptown.”