New Orleans BioInnovation Center

New Orleans, Louisiana
Architect: Eskew+Dumez+Ripple and NBBJ
Contractor: Turner Construction Company

Project Overview:

This 64,000 square foot (5,945 sq.m) building, located on Canal Street in New Orleans and adjacent the historic French Quarter, seeks to further expand and revitalize its neighborhood. This facility serves as a biotechology research incubator and laboratory, providing infrastructure to university researchers and biotechnology startups to commercialize new technologies. Designed by Eskew+Dumez+Ripple in collaboration with NBBJ, this facility seeks to maximize human performance with daylight, views of nature and areas for collaboration and reflection.

ELEMENT worked with the Design team to develop the exterior shading system, creating a modern design for energy conservation. The system was required to balance the goals of minimizing materials, offer low maintenance and at the same time provide durability and strength in severe wind events. Horizontal louvers of varying depths and spacing were used to protect the glazing on the facility while simultaneously limiting energy costs and creating a more comfortable environment for the building’s occupants.

By careful design the louvers deployed on the southwest facing Canal Street façade allow for the façade to be 63% glass, while having the summer solar gain of a facade with only 20% glass. The AIA Jury declared, “the shading system is the most striking part of the building” and demonstrates “very high levels of energy performance, especially given a very challenging climate”.

LEED Certification:
  • LEED Gold
Key Contribution by ELEMENT:
  • Materials: Structural steel and aluminum extrusions.
ELEMENT Services:
  • Design Review
  • Preliminary materials, manufacturing, engineering, scheduling and budget estimation
  • Presentation of options and solutions, including schedule, scope and budgeting aspects of various options
  • Engineering analysis, calculations and submittals
  • 3D Modeling
  • Design, fabrication and installation options and analysis
  • Scheduling
  • Prototyping and Samples
  • Fabrication
  • Delivery
Awards:
  • Top Ten Project Award, 2015, AIA’s Committee on the Environment
  • New Orleans Honor Award, 2012, AIA
  • Louisiana Honor Award, 2012, AIA
  • Winner, 2016, U.S. Small Business Administration Growth Accelerator Fund Competition
  • Good Design is Good Business Award Winner, 2014, Architectural Record
  • Green Architecture Good Design Award, 2014, The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design
  • Award of Excellence: Sustainable Commercial Design, 2014, International Interior Design Association, Delta Region
  • American Architecture Award, 2013, The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design
Select Publications:
  • “New Orleans BioInnovation Center: New Orleans, LA: Undeniably New Orleans”, Winter 2016, High Performance Buildings
  • “New Orleans BioInnovation Center”, 16 June 2014, Architectural Record
  • “Building for Industry: The New Orleans BioInnovation Center brings biotech start-ups to the city in a LEED Gold structure”, Nov/Dec 2014, Green Building and Design Magazine
  • “Bioinnovation Center”, May 2013, GreenSource Magazine
  • “2015 AIA COTE Top 10: New Orleans BioInnovation Center”, 22 April 2015, Architect Magazine