Trahan Architects

Trahan Architects Our projects share a high level of technological sophistication coupled with a sense of quiet beauty.

Trahan Architects, an award-winning firm led by Victor F. “Trey” Trahan, FAIA, has received international acclaim for work that is at once intensely personal, historically grounded, and aesthetically sublime. Trahan Architects, an award-winning design firm, has received international and national acclaim for work that is at once intensely personal, historically grounded and aesthetically sublime.

The firm often combines research into emerging materials and construction with an intense connection to history, place and culture, creating projects that feel simultaneously rooted and contemporary. The work of the firm has been published in more than 40 countries and we have won 4 national AIA Honor awards as well as numerous state and regional awards. Selected as one of only three practices in the Architectural Review Award for Emerging Architecture in 2005, the firm continues its exploration of artistry and invention. Our current focus involves the intensification of expressive language in our work while extending the development of a timeless aesthetic. Headquartered in New Orleans, the firm also operates design studios in New York City and Chicago.

Trahan Architects recently had the pleasure of hosting Abigail Islas Rendon , a student from the University of Kentucky ...
04/15/2026

Trahan Architects recently had the pleasure of hosting Abigail Islas Rendon , a student from the University of Kentucky College of Design’s School of Architecture, through the Practice Previews program. This initiative connects students with firms across the country, offering hands-on experience and insight into professional practice.

Thank you and for making this opportunity possible and for supporting meaningful connections between academia and practice.

Abigail brought curiosity, focus, and a thoughtful perspective to the studio, and we appreciate the contributions she made during her time with us. We wish her continued success in her architectural journey.
 

New Orleans Cultural Burial Museum and Healing Complex - New Orleans, Louisiana The Rammed Earth campus is designed as a...
03/30/2026

New Orleans Cultural Burial Museum and Healing Complex - New Orleans, Louisiana
 
The Rammed Earth campus is designed as a living museum, inviting visitors to experience New Orleans culture and African Diaspora practices firsthand to preserve Black cultural heritage, share stories, and carry traditions forward, offering a deeper understanding of New Orleans’ unique culture and the history that shapes our communities.
 
Shaped to honor the tradition of Jazz Funerals, the campus embeds African Diaspora practices such as earth construction, wrought iron, and burial groves, creating a space where all people can learn, heal, and thrive.
 
Collaborators:


Julien Engineering




VPG Construction
 

Ochsner Center for Innovation - New Orleans, LouisianaThe Ochsner Center for Innovation serves as the headquarters for O...
03/25/2026

Ochsner Center for Innovation - New Orleans, Louisiana

The Ochsner Center for Innovation serves as the headquarters for Ochsner Innovation (iO), bringing together partners and technology to develop, test, and implement solutions in digital health, precision medicine, and advanced analytics.

The Center features makerspaces for creating new technologies, a prototype lab with a full-scale hospital room, waiting area, and exam room for real-world testing, flexible offices, collaboration areas, and a training center for conferences, community events, and educational programs.

By fostering collaboration and experimentation, the center sets the stage for advancements in healthcare.
 
Collaborators:

Morphy Makofsky INC
YKMH Consulting

 
Visualizations:

A housing proposal in New Orleans, exploring how new forms engage a historic context.  These studies document early expl...
03/18/2026

A housing proposal in New Orleans, exploring how new forms engage a historic context. 
 
These studies document early explorations into form and material. 16 resin casts iterate massing and proportion in response to a trapezoidal lot, alongside patinated metal samples examining a contemporary interpretation of local materiality. 
 
Together, they reflect a design approach that celebrates chance and allows architecture to emerge through experimentation.
 

The Crest — Baton Rouge, LouisianaPositioned at the intersection of the civic and cultural districts, the structure fram...
03/12/2026

The Crest — Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Positioned at the intersection of the civic and cultural districts, the structure frames key elements of the urban fabric; from City Hall and the Old State Capitol to the Mississippi River Bridge and the tree-lined boulevard leading to Town Square.

An 80-foot cantilevered canopy, formed by a structural steel plate frame and clad in stainless steel, establishes a new gathering place as a public sculpture, and a
performance venue.

For performances, a modular truss system can be assembled on site and attached to the structure to support sound and lighting while providing weather protection for multiple stage orientations. The stage arcs gently, creating a flexible and accessible performance platform capable of accommodating a range of event types. 
 
Collaborators:
(City Hall Plaza and Repentance Park)
(Galvez Plaza)
Brown+Danos Land Design (Galvez Plaza)

Kansas City Structural Steel

 
Photography:


New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau The renovation of the 70,000 ft² headquarters for the New Orleans Convention ...
03/09/2026

New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau
 
The renovation of the 70,000 ft² headquarters for the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau (now New Orleans & Company) on historic St. Charles Avenue transforms the building envelope while maintaining operations throughout construction.

Inspired by the classic vernacular shutters found throughout New Orleans’ historic district, the façade introduces a contemporary perforated metal louver system. Set at an ideal angle along the east elevation, the louvers block direct morning sun while diffusing daylight into the workspace. The resulting play of shadows across the interior shifts throughout the day and year, echoing the dappled shade of the live oaks lining the avenue the project faces.

A custom stainless steel rainscreen system and increased glazing bring natural daylight and exterior views into office spaces that were previously reliant on artificial lighting. The textured silver finish reflects the changing sky, trees, and climate, allowing the building’s appearance to subtly evolve throughout the day. 

Collaborators:
 
The Tobler Company, , Associated Design Group, , Morphy Makofsky

Expo Georgia Convention Center & Masterplan - Tbilisi, Georgia Located within the post-industrial Didube–Chugureti distr...
03/06/2026

Expo Georgia Convention Center & Masterplan - Tbilisi, Georgia
 
Located within the post-industrial Didube–Chugureti district, Expo Georgia is a 15-hectare campus northeast of Tbilisi’s historic city center. Originally developed in the 1960s as a regional exposition, the site is organized around a sequence of landscaped gardens and Soviet-era pavilions.

The new convention center anchors the western edge of the campus, defined by a sequence of gabled forms composed of cast-in-place concrete and glass. Extensive ground-floor glazing optimizes views and establishes continuity with the surrounding landscape and park spaces.

Part of a two-phase master plan, the project introduces a 52,000 m² exhibition center, a 200-key hotel and ballroom along the northern edge, a cineplex at the southeast entry, and new public spaces that frame the historic pavilions while reshaping the campus for contemporary events and cultural exhibition.
 
In collaboration with:
Counts Studio


 

We are honored to share that The Chapel of St. Ignatius and the Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center on the campus of Loyo...
11/25/2025

We are honored to share that The Chapel of St. Ignatius and the Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center on the campus of Loyola University New Orleans has been awarded a 2026 Faith & Form Award for Religious Architecture: New Facilities! This project further exemplifies our rooted approach; creating architecture informed by its context, mission and cultural history and inviting stillness toward a transcendent collective experience. More on this project and award to come.

Photography by:

We’re proud to share that the Performance Pavilion at Luther George Park has received an 2025  Design Award of Merit! We...
10/09/2025

We’re proud to share that the Performance Pavilion at Luther George Park has received an 2025 Design Award of Merit! We’re so appreciative of the jury’s recognition of this collaborative effort with our friends at .nola – designers of Luther George Park’s revitalization in Springdale, Arkansas.

From the jury:

“Unique in its design and innovative in its construction, this sculptural element created its own definition of space making within the landscape. The form in the landscape and the views to and through the element activated a space broad beyond its physical reach.”
 
Thank you to our clients:   Contractor: and incredible team:       

Photo

We’re honored to announce that our Founder and CEO, Trey Trahan, has been elected to the National Academy of Design as o...
09/18/2025

We’re honored to announce that our Founder and CEO, Trey Trahan, has been elected to the National Academy of Design as one of 27 esteemed artists and architects for the class of 2025.

“I am deeply humbled by this honor, and it more so reflects the hard work, talent and collaboration that our brilliant team has delivered throughout the firm’s history. Architecture truly takes a village, and I’ve had the privilege to work among some of the best designers to make our visions come to fruition. This goes to them.” – Trey Trahan, FAIA

Celebrating its 200th year, the promotes art and architecture in America through exhibition, education and research. National Academicians are selected by their peers in recognition of their extraordinary contributions to art and architecture in America.

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701 Poydras Street Ste 150P
New Orleans, LA
70139

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