RICHARDSON MEMORIAL HALL

BUILDING AN ENVIRONMENT OF EXCELLENCE AT THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

At the School of Architecture, we know better than anyone how much the built environment affects experience. That is why we have undertaken an ambitious renovation, expansion and modernization of Richardson Memorial Hall that is helping to address critical needs and meaningfully support our mission of quality education and civic engagement.

By modernizing the building at the center of it all, Richardson Memorial Hall, we will help fulfill the School of Architecture’s mission of quality education, innovative research and civic engagement. The renovation and expansion of Richardson Memorial Hall is a critical part of a larger capital campaign to help address the school’s most vital needs.

We are equipping future leaders with the skills to build the cities of tomorrow.

A STORIED HISTORY

Designed in 1907 by the New Orleans architecture firm of Andry and Bendernagel to house the Tulane Medical College, Richardson Memorial Hall is located on the St. Charles Avenue side of campus, on the oldest and most beautiful quadrangle at Tulane. The five-story brick and limestone building is a fine example of the Richardsonian Romanesque-style buildings that define this area of the campus. In 1971, Richardson Memorial Hall became the home of the Tulane School of Architecture.

With the Only the Audacious campaign, we seized the opportunity to thoughtfully align the beautiful, historic building at the heart of Tulane’s main academic quad with the school’s ambitious mission for our future by undertaking a complete renovation and expansion. This long-awaited project began in 2021 and involves significant investment by the university, as well as crucial support from the Tulane community.

At the Tulane School of Architecture, the study of architecture is not limited to only teaching students the skill set necessary to build structures. We are equipping future leaders with the skills to build the cities of tomorrow. Architects are shaped and educated by spaces, and if we aspire to train the architects who will lead in the future, we must have a building worthy of their work.

To stay competitive and recruit the next generation of architectural leaders, we are committed to providing the same quality space and facilities as our peer institutions nationally.

To give students the best experiences possible, we are turning the former woodshop for small models into a real fabrication laboratory. The lab will be structured as an open environment for material-based learning and research, allowing projects at multiple scales, digital fabrication using robotics, 3D printing and milling, and with significant space for assemblage.

The continuing renovation and expansion of Richardson Memorial will allow us to build computer labs that are ideal for teaching and working because these spaces require dimensions and significant infrastructure to combine individual work on-screen with projections and sound.

Studio is the main vehicle for architectural education, and the Richardson Memorial renovation and expansion is transforming Tulane’s studio space into areas that hold personal high-performance desktops and screens, collaboration areas and digital boards.

Project reviews are an essential part of the student experience. These have historically been conducted in the school hallways and lobby. The renovation includes a modern expansion that adds review rooms with digital and physical pinup walls that can also be used as regular classroom and seminar spaces.

The expansion and renovation addresses safety and accessibility issues while also establishing a greater shop footprint designed to hold the latest architectural tools and keep up with rising demand from Tulane students.

THE NEW RICHARDSON MEMORIAL:
A DESTINATION LOCATION

Richardson Memorial Hall is one of the most impressive and visible buildings on campus, which is why in our ongoing renovation and expansion we are committed to retaining the details that make it so remarkable — cypress wood windows, its limestone and brick facade, its wood gable roof. The expansion is adding 18,000 square feet of new construction onto the back of the building to preserve the existing exterior. Half of the square footage consists of essential core towers with elevators, fire stairs and restrooms. The additional 9,000 square feet are for essential programs (review rooms, gallery, faculty offices, and expansion of shop). The number of classrooms is increasing, and students, faculty and the public will be drawn to the new, innovative lecture hall. This space is adjacent to a public exhibition gallery, an essential program to disseminate the work of our students and faculty, or to bring external lessons to our students.