To the origins
Created by a hunter-gatherer society between 3700 and 3100 B.C., the monumental mounds at Poverty Point testify to an extreme refinement in the mastery of earthen architecture. Five mounds, six concentric semi-elliptical ridges, an esplanade and the remains of a roadway are still visible. The soil rearrangement work visible beneath the surface of these structures testifies to an astonishing terracing system devised to both combat erosion and give the mounds the desired shape. Holes on the esplanade, probably intended for wooden posts, are still visible and give an idea of what this first human settlement might have looked like.
French and Spanish influences
The original plan for New Orleans was drawn up by a French military engineer, who imagined a checkerboard structure with perfect street divisions... the Vieux Carré was born, even if the plan is actually rectangular! Initially, the buildings were all built on the same model, with a slightly raised first floor covered in bark and shingles; the plots were divided to allow each building to benefit from a courtyard and garden. These early buildings are often referred to as "Creole cottages". At the same time, the French had opted for brick and stone for their public and religious buildings, such as the Cabildo (former governor's palace) and the Old Ursuline Convent, among the oldest buildings in the city. Marked by repeated fires, the Spanish decided to change the face of New Orleans for good. Wooden buildings were banned. Brick became the material of choice, while roof tiles replaced wooden shingles. Buildings were given one or two extra storeys, and the cramped courtyards reserved for the common areas were transformed into pleasant, vast courtyards and interior patios. The interior facades feature two levels of loggias adorned with semi-circular or basket-handle arches. On the street side, the facades are now punctuated by an imposing porte-cochère and corbelled balconies with elegant ironwork.
But it would be far too simple to say that one type of architecture is uniquely French and another uniquely Spanish, for Louisiana very quickly developed a unique Creole style, made up of multiple influences. In particular, architecture had to be adapted to climatic conditions. Creole houses were gradually fitted with large porches or roof overhangs to create protective galleries. Ceiling heights were also increased to facilitate natural ventilation. Ventilation is provided by an ingenious system of draughts in the astonishing "bracket shotgun" style houses. Very narrow, these houses are designed to fit the plot of land, which is often deeper than it is wide. The term "shotgun" refers to the enfilade arrangement of the rooms, with all the doors lined up in a row... so a bullet fired at the entrance could pass through the entire household! The term "bracket" refers to the brackets supporting the projecting roof that protects the façade. Raising these houses on brick pillars also kept out moisture and promoted ventilation. From their Caribbean origins, these houses have retained their stunning, vibrant colors. Many can be found in the Marigny and Bywater districts of New Orleans.
The historic district of Natchitoches is another superb example of this blend of styles and influences. The French and Spanish presence was also evident in the defensive architecture. Fort Rosalie is one of the first white settlements among the Natchez Indians, while Fort Saint-Jean illustrates the evolution of military defences, the Spanish having reinforced the originally wooden French fort with brick.
The Vermilionville Living History Museum, a sort of open-air museum, houses fine reconstructions and authentic homes typical of an 18th- and 19th-century Acadian village. Acadian housing, whose first structures were inspired by stilt housing with the creation of a platform on wooden posts adapted to swampy soils, was later tinged with Louisiana Creole influences, adding extra storeys, galleries and high gables. In the famous bayous, the Cajuns developed an original habitat, with houses on stilts and floating wooden houses, all vernacular treasures now threatened by rising waters..
Planting
The plantation houses of the early colonial era are often single-storey or one-storey, with multiple dormers (small skylights protected by a roof), long and surrounded by parks and gardens with pretty gloriettes (small ornamental pavilions serving as gazebos). Mount Hope and The Myrtles are fine examples. As their fortunes grew, the wealthy planters opted for a grand neoclassical style, known here as Greek Revival, transforming their homes into veritable antique palaces. The main house on the Nottoway plantation is one of the most sumptuous in Louisiana. Judge for yourself: 22 Corinthian columns, a hemicyclic gallery, 65 rooms, 7 staircases and a ballroom all in white marble and wood. InOak Alley Plantation, a driveway lined with 28 white oaks leads to a house with 28 Doric columns, whose belvedere offers a view of the estate's 28 outbuildings! A number of homes will later take on the trappings of eclecticism, such as Plantation San Francisco, whose style has been described by some as "steamboat gothic". The silhouette of the house is reminiscent of the superb steamboats cruising along the Mississippi! Other superb plantations include Houmas House, Parlange, Rosedown and Laura, the most colorful Creole of them all. But don't let this splendor make you forget that the whole plantation system is based on the exploitation of man by man. Some plantations have preserved the crude wooden huts and barracks in which slaves were forced to live. Whitney Plantation is entirely devoted to this subject. The town of Alexandria has preserved the Edwin Epps House. Working with architect and carpenter Samuel Bass, Edwin Epps, author of 12 Years a Slave, built this wooden plank house with brick chimney and gallery porch... a modest dwelling that enabled him to finally escape his condition as a slave.
Power and modernity
To counter foreign influences and impose their mark, the Americans multiplied the number of townhouses, recognizable by their narrow silhouette, three-storey stucco or brick structure and2nd-floor balcony; as well as three-bay buildings, symbols of an architecture that was already becoming standardized. But the young nation also dreamed of itself as the "New Athens", a symbol of democratic omnipotence. The Greek Revival was the perfect style to underline this power. With a complete rethink of urban planning, featuring long, straight, tree-lined avenues and a focus on the Central Business District, the Americans adorned their public buildings with columns, pilasters and pediments, and dressed them in immaculate white. The mansions of Uptown and the public buildings of the New Orleans business district are perfect examples. At the same time, the Americans were reinforcing existing military structures and building new ones, such as Forts Macomb and Pike, part of the ambitious "Third System" defense plan consisting of 42 stone fortresses designed to adapt to the evolution of artillery, especially cannons.
At the turn of the 20th century, Louisiana also succumbed to Victorian eclecticism, drawing on the sources of all past styles. Churches are astonishing representatives of this "neo" wave. Take, for example, Lafayette's impressive Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, a blend of neo-Byzantine and neo-Gothic with its domes and arcades. Some private residences are also bold in their styles. The Doullut Steamboat Houses in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward are authentic Victorian masterpieces. Balconies with metal columns, railings and large chimneys transform these houses into static steamboats. Looking for the unusual? Be sure to visit the cemeteries of New Orleans. Built below sea level, the city is obliged to bury its dead above the waterlogged ground in brick tombs covered in stucco, granite or marble, some of which are eclectically decorated. This return to past styles is also employed for those who nevertheless hold themselves up as paragons of modernity: skyscrapers! Downtown Shreveport boasts some fine examples, such as the neo-Gothic Slattery Building with its pointed arches and turrets, or the more Italianate Justin Gras Building with its stylized frames. Gradually, however, Louisiana moved away from this somewhat sclerotic historicism and turned to the cleaner lines of modernism. The Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge is the finest example of Art Deco... a sobriety far removed from the Louisiana'Old State Capitol and its crenellated turrets. The "streamline modern" style, inspired by kinetics and new modes of transport, features streamlined buildings in glass, steel and aluminum. Architects, entrepreneurs and innovators, the Wiener brothers were permanently influenced by their trip to Europe and their discovery of the Bauhaus, whose principles they wanted to apply in their booming city of Shreveport. Playful use of materials (concrete, wood, brick, glass), flat roofs, simple geometric volumes (usually cubic or rectangular), playful use of perspective and cantilevered elements, harmonious integration into the environment, all preside over their creations. Ed Wile's Villa, the Mayer House, Bossier High School and the Samuel G. Wiener House are among their finest achievements. Baton Rouge, meanwhile, bears the stamp of another leading architect of the era: A. Hays Town. In 1939, he founded his firm in Baton Rouge, which became the largest in the state in the aftermath of the war. While his career began under the most classical auspices of modernism, as exemplified by the Union Federal Savings and Loan Building, from the 1960s onwards, A. Hays Town devoted himself exclusively to purely residential architecture, for which he drew inspiration from Louisiana's vernacular traditions. His work was characterized by the reuse of materials, an emphasis on detail, the use of rich and varied colors, generous proportions and a permanent adaptation to the climate, thanks to courtyards and fountains, large shutters and raised brick floors. In all, he built over 1,000 houses!
Contemporary architecture
The 1970s in New Orleans were marked by three astonishing buildings: the sleek Shell Tower, designed by the famous SOM agency and boasting the highest height in Louisiana; the Caesars Superdome, the world's largest clear-span fixed-dome structure; and, above all, the architectural UFO, the Piazza d'Italia, designed by Charles Moore. A major figure of postmodernism, Moore is famous for his art of pastiche, which reaches its climax here with this square and fountain outlining the contours of Italy, and multiplying monumental colonnades and other stylized capitals. Louisiana's new contemporary projects are also original, starting with the incredible Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, designed by Trahan Architects. Its sober, geometric exterior gives no hint of the wonderful interplay of fluid, organic curves that bring the interiors to life. In Baton Rouge, the Capitol Park Museum, recognizable by its concrete, glass and metal envelope and monumental porch, is one of the finest contemporary achievements.
After Hurricane Katrina, 80% of New Orleans was submerged and 130,000 homes destroyed or damaged. The Lower Ninth Ward still bears the heavy scars of the disaster. It was in this neighborhood that Brad Pitt's Make it Right Foundation decided to create subdivisions of small houses conceived as contemporary reinterpretations of Creole tradition. For the occasion, the actor even enlisted the services of the famous Franck Gehry... but today, all these creations are falling into disrepair due to poor quality materials. But let's look past these failures and focus on how vibrant NOLA has risen to the occasion. The Bywater district has been transformed, where docks and warehouses have been repurposed as trendy galleries. In the heart of the Upper Ninth Ward, Musician's Village is once again the beating heart of the jazz capital. The small houses here are home to musicians of modest means. Among the city's cultural landmarks, don't miss the National WWII Museum, a large concrete structure with protruding volumes that houses a multi-pavilion structure. From the Treme district, the old railroad line has been rehabilitated as a pedestrian promenade and bicycle path, the Lafitte Greenway. Crescent Park is another superb example of how nature is reclaiming spaces strongly marked by the city's industrial and port activities. Recently, the prolific Louisiana firm Waggoner & Ball proposed a new urban plan to change the relationship between residents and water, inspired by the work of Dutch architects and urban planners. Their idea? Imagine a network of canals, galleries and flood gardens where water would be managed and channeled, embellishing the landscape. New Orleans has not said its last word!
