Commercial Architecture March 2018 - 42

PROJECT

fenestration
and eventually transferred that business to the New Orleans Regional

stepped outside of their wheelhouse to embark on a $50-million

Transit Authority in 1983. NOPSI later became Entergy New Orleans,

restoration of the NOPSI building. According to the company's

a subsidiary of Entergy Corp., New Orleans, and moved to a more

website, the restoration project is the first urban development in its

modern building leaving the NOPSI building vacant for decades.

portfolio. Prem Devadas, president of Salamander Hotels & Resorts,
saw the building as an opportunity he couldn't pass up. According to

RESTORATION VISION

NOLA.com, he said, "It's not just a historic building. It's a building

Salamander Hotels & Resorts, Middleburg, VA (salamanderhotels.

with history."

com), known for its portfolio of luxury golf and beach resorts,

Recognizing the heritage of the building and appreciating its significance to the local business and cultural community, the goal was to
preserve as much of the original building as possible while providing
modern luxuries that locals and visitors could enjoy.
The project focused on creating a close replica of the 1927 building. The two-year project plan to restore the building was ambitious as
the building façade, main entrance, terrazzo floors, and intricate interior woodwork needed extensive restoration after sitting in decay for
so many years.
Because the building is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places, the builder had to coordinate with the state historic preservation office, the agency responsible for historic preservation efforts, to
ensure compliance with state and local preservation laws. Any renovation had to be carefully planned to preserve the original building and
components.
Salamander administrators entrusted Woodward Design + Build,
New Orleans (woodwarddesignbuild.com), with leading the project.
The Woodward Design Group served as the general contractor and
project architect and delegated to subgroups under their umbrella
brand for this multi-faceted project, including Woodward Millwork
Group, Woodward Engineering Group, and Woodward Steel Group.
Woodward also collaborated with outside building-material companies, including Zinsel Glass, New Orleans, and YKK AP America Inc.,
Austell, GA (ykkap.com).
The project extended beyond the NOPSI building to include
neighboring properties: a former savings and loan bank, a brick build-

Above. For any post-Katrina structures or renovations in New Orleans, hurricane mitigation is top priority. NOPSI's impact-resistant and
blast-mitigating storefront system can withstand as much as 70 psf and is approved for high-velocity hurricane zones.
Below. The juxtaposition of NOPSI's charming heritage and contemporary indulgence is a recipe for success.

ing behind the main property, and a former parking lot on the corner.
The team needed to seamlessly incorporate the additional square
footage and buildings into the new development while keeping the
rich history and original design the main priority.
The development team extensively researched the original NOPSI
building space, designed by well-known Louisiana architects Favrot
and Livaudais. The team designed a plan that added an extra floor on
the rooftop of the NOPSI building. The adjacent buildings would be
turned into a restaurant and a ballroom for event space.
PRESERVATION, PROTECTION

Construction began in August 2016. While the Woodward Millwork
Group crafted new bars and banquettes, the Woodward Engineering
Group helped add an extra floor to the building rooftop, and the
Woodward Steel Group focused on the structural and ornamental
steel work, such as the countertops and exterior grand canopies.
Each step of the way, the original building elements were preserved or repurposed whenever possible. For example, existing columns in the building were leveraged and an extra floor was added.
This enabled the addition of a rooftop pool and bar and an extra 14
guest rooms, as well as a presidential suite overlooking the city's famous Superdome.
While working on the project, the team discovered that the origi42

COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE

MARCH 2018

commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

http://www.NOLA.com http://www.woodwarddesignbuild.com http://www.ykkap.com http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture March 2018