Located within the Picayune Place historic neighborhood of New Orleans’ Central Business District, the Residence is a contemporary intervention situated on a vacant site in the heart of the city. Along Magazine Street the original 1854 facade stands as the only remnant of a structure that was destroyed in a fire over 20 years ago.

The design of Trahan Architects is centered on creating a place of quiet contemplation and repose in a city filled with excess and revelry. The house itself is a simple parti of a cast-in-place concrete box which is located beside a monumental weathered steel sculpture wall. The large steel panels form the backdrop for the interior of the house, informing the relationship between inside and out, natural light and shadow. 

The material palette is limited to museum-quality concrete, glass and steel which enhances the quality of natural light reflected into the house. Editing out internal visual and acoustical distractions was primary to all decisions, resulting in an atmosphere of subtlety informed by the seasons.

In reverence of the historic context, the residence is set back from the front and rear property lines to create landscaped courtyards which minimize the visual impact of the building from the street and preserve the experience of the historic streetscape.