500 Piety St

Description: New construction of a six-story mixed-use building on a vacant lot. Massing and design changes to previously-approved five-story mixed-use commercial building proposal.

Previous ARC Comments:

June 18, 2019 Meeting:

• Landscaping, specifically a row of trees on the Eastern side near the bike parking, seating areas and lobby entry.

• Make the East walls of Tenant 1 and Tenant 3 more operable to directly connect and engage the public pedestrian traffic.

• The site of this building is unique in that it is adjacent to one of the most iconic pieces of public art in New Orleans. The building needs to respect and compliment the pedestrian bridge to Crescent Park. Specifically, develop the details of the galleries on Chartres St façade which is currently depicted in a very generic way. Draw materiality and articulation of elements from the immediate context, specifically the public riverfront park, pedestrian bridge, and industrial aesthetic. The galleries should be utilized as the sculptural element of the building as its scale and placement put it in direct dialogue with the unique context.

• The stairwell on the Chartres St side of the building should follow the stepping back of the building per the zoning requirements. Utilizing this as an architectural device should be explored.

• Replace the cable guardrail surrounding the mechanical units with a solid parapet wall of the same material as the wall below.

• Remove horizontal banding aesthetic of floor slabs to emphasize the verticality of building elements.

• Clarify the disparate elements on the east elevation – bring glass wall of vertical circulation element out, modify canopy at lobby entrance to become an autonomous element, add pilasters to brick wall to emphasize these elements.

July 23, 2019 Meeting:

• Remove cast stone horizontal banding throughout project.

• Develop column and handrail details. The columns appear to be too spindly for the mass of the building. This is a major design element and needs to not be generic.

• The parking lot side entrance shading device is not successful. The element should be functional for sun control and not read as upside down handrails.

• Add height to the punched openings and develop divisions and operability.

• The shade structures on the roof terrace should be altered such that they do not exist over enclosed building spaces. The shade structures should move away from the East side of the building to be more prominent on the West side of the building.

Context Photos:

Current Drawings:

Previous Drawings (7/15/2019):

Previous Drawings (6/7/2019):

Street View: