ADAPTIVE REUSE
New Orleans
Curated for leading independent hoteliers and developers in the hospitality sector, the New Orleans Adaptive Reuse immersion asked participants to consider how their professions can profitably support and relate to the cultural economy of the city.
This single-day immersion gave participants a tangible shared experience and context to discuss and dissect throughout the subsequent Independent Lodging Congress’s annual conference.
We set the context for a group of hoteliers to think about designing for hospitality within their specific cultural contexts, and with a mission driven purpose that offers equity for locals. A suprising and meaningful series of site visits showed us successful relationships between cultural economy, community equity, and sustainability.
The business strategy for church-come-hotel Hotel Peter and Paul centers around building preservation and community engagement.
Hotel Peter and Paul hoteliers renovated three unique buildings exclusively through adaptive reuse to preserve the traditional New Orleans architectural design features. The hotel seeks to build and preserve meaningful relationships with the community, through their hiring and programming.
“We put together a plan that was focused on preservation: We weren’t going to build any new buildings. We weren’t going to demolish any old buildings. We were going to keep the church available for community events and parking.”
— Nathalie Jordi, Owner Hotel Peter and Paul
Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes created Ashé Cultural Arts Center to revitalize and celebrate the history of New Orleans’ Claiborne Corridor.
The Claiborne Corridor was once a vibrant, tree-lined community hub for hundreds of Black-owned businesses, and home to regular dance and musical performances. Today, Asali seeks to acknowledge and address the trauma the city holds after the construction of the elevated Interstate-10 Claiborne Expressway bisected the town and devastated the community.
“The real power of a leader is in the number of minds she can reach, hearts she can touch, souls she can move, and lives she can change.”
— Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes, Founder of Ashé Cultural Arts Center
StudioBE further exemplifies the ability of communities, organizations, and businesses to derive resilience from trauma.
Through intentional programming, workshops, exhibitions, and resource allocation, StudioBE roots its mission in the belief that the blueprint for a better tomorrow lives in the collective imagination. Housed within a 36,000- square foot gallery, StudioBE offered our participants a look at the influence of the city’s cultural history and present.
“Triumph over adversity, resilience in spite of trauma. It’s a way of taking up space–the idea that you are still here. Everyone at some point in their lives has gone through something and can possibly resonate with the idea of 'you are still here' despite whatever happened to them.”
— Liz LeFrere, StudioBE
With Where Y’Art, participants considered how their businesses can serve as platforms for the independent creatives in their communities.
Where Y’Art works as a liaison between hoteliers and hotel groups and local artists, giving artists paid opportunities with hotels. The group connects the public with artists, developing tech tools to make featured artists and artworks searchable and accessible.
Our Adaptive Reuse immersion in New Orleans put hoteliers in conversation with the history of their communities. Together, participants and site partners pushed one another to think critically about the relationship between their industry, community trauma, and the potential for healing.
CREDITS
ANDREW BENIOFF, TATIANA SWEDEK & JACKIE KELLY
Independent Lodging Congress
NATHALIE JORDI & JENNIFER DRAGNA
Hotel Peter & Paul
BRANDAN ODUMS & LIZ LEFRERE
StudioBE
ASALI DEVAN ECCLESIASTES
Ashé Cultural Arts Center
COLLIN FERGUSON
Where Y’Art
KRISTIN SHANNON
Producshan
DANTE NICHOLAS
Photography
73 DISTILLERY