Prospect.1 Welcome Center; New Orleans

Eskew+Dumez+Ripple

The largest biennial of international contemporary art ever organized in the United States, exhibits 81 artists in museums, historic buildings, and found sites throughout New Orleans. The Welcome Center for P.1 is housed in one of these found spaces – the historic Hefler Warehouse – and serves to orient visitors to the city and the biennial.

The design was inspired by the shape and scale of shipping containers, a nod to the significance of the port to the city’s economy and a reference to the nature of delivery for much of the art exhibited for the biennial.

Due to constraints of time and budget – the entire project was designed and constructed in 6 weeks at a total cost of $28,000 – a single construction material was selected that was both inexpensive and readily available.

Utilizing construction grade plywood as floor, wall, ceiling and structure, the internal form is manipulated to provide hospitality desk, display counter, refreshment center and seating bench for visitors. Acting as a container within a container, the ribbed plywood exterior construction acts in dialogue with the wood structure of the historic warehouse, contrasting the architecture of old and new.
Construction Cost in whole dollars  28,000