URBANbuild

URBANbuild Local Global—is primarily a documentation of the work of URBANbuild—a comprehensive program launched to be a unique multi-scaled laboratory for city research as well as a vehicle to generate innovative design strategies and site-specific interventions to aid in the New Orleans’s revitalization and future urban development. The program primarily focused its investigations on culturally significant neighborhoods central to the core of the city that had been severely damaged, not only by Hurricane Katrina, but also by a long history of neglect and urban decay.

Building Community: The Work of Eskew Dumez Ripple celebrates the 25th anniversary of the New Orleans-based firm. Eskew Dumez Ripple believes that a building is an expression of both the process by which design decisions are made, and the program to which the building must adhere – its size, function, and context, as well as cost and construction time. The text will trace the development of EDR’s progressive architecture practice operating in the deeply traditional American Gulf South, and discuss the rich architectural heritage of both New Orleans and surrounding regions.

Eskew Dumez Ripple is a design-driven studio which produces diverse projects in architecture and planning by blending a signature collaborative process with professional talent, creative thinking and emerging technologies. Based in New Orleans, the firm uses the cultural and architectural heritage of the city as a platform for a practice of national range and recognition. The result is a vibrant portfolio that includes aquariums, research laboratories, marine facilities, interpretative centers and museums as well as office buildings, academic and health care facilities. Five Firm Directors lead the studio of professionals, promoting design excellence, efficient project delivery, and mastery of technical construction systems. We advocate environmental sustainability, elegant craftsmanship of materials and spirited collaboration with each one of their clients.