Architect Morris Adjmi To Build On Hometown Foundation
You may not recognize homegrown architect Morris Adjmi walking down the street, but you’d definitely recognize his work at 1001 Julia St., when looking up at The Standard. The 15-story luxury condominium high-rise in the South Market District, that features 24,000 square feet of retail space designed to accommodate art galleries and boutique retailers and a 30,000 square-foot roof deck shaded by magnolia trees with a large saltwater pool, private cabanas and an outdoor kitchen, was completed last year.
As the founder and principal of Morris Adjmi Architects (MA), Adjmi grew up in New Orleans, is a graduate of The Tulane School of Architecture (M. Arch. ’83), attended The Institute of Architecture and Urban Studies in New York City, spent 13 years collaborating with Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Aldo Rossi and hung up his own shingle in 1997.
Today, Adjmi is considered a “giant in the international architecture community” for “revitalizing post-industrial neighborhoods and historic districts with an architecture that bridges the past and the present without reverting to historicism or relying on nostalgia.”
MA employs a staff of more than 100 that has completed more than five million square feet of built space. Another 10 million square feet are currently under construction in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Tampa and Washington, D.C.
From its headquarters in New York City’s Financial District, at 60 Broad St., MA has won more than 25 design awards.
On Tuesday, March 26, Adjmi will host an invitation only cocktail party to celebrate the grand opening of a second office, Morris Adjmi Architects in New Orleans, at 1029 Jackson Ave.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. followed by remarks by Adjmi and New Orleans Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Ben Johnson.
Adjmi gave Biz New Orleans a blueprint for his plans in The Big Easy:
Leslie Snadowsky: You could have opened a second office anywhere in the world. Why New Orleans, and are you excited about the recent building boom in your hometown?
Morris Adjmi: First and more foremost, I love it here. I was born here, grew up here and went to Tulane. Well before I even dreamt of becoming an architect, I was obsessively drawing French Quarter balconies. The city hasn’t stopped inspiring me since then, and there’s still so much to learn here. New Orleans is the reason that I’m an architect, and I consider it a privilege to be a part of the city’s architecture and design community.
On a personal level, I’m looking forward to spending more time here with my family. On a more practical level, the office has been lucky enough to work on some exciting projects in the South, including in Charleston, Tampa, Miami, and, of course, hopefully more to come in New Orleans. For us, it just makes sense to have an office in the South and what better place than my hometown.
L.S.: Regarding The Standard, what you are most proud about? How did you incorporate New Orleans elements into this new contemporary residential design?
M.A.: It’s been fascinating to watch South Market emerge as a new neighborhood in the heart of the city, and I am proud that we were able to play a part in that. Historically, that area was a hub of industry and commerce, and we tried to capture that spirit with a design that bridges the architectural rhythms and materials of old warehouses and former factories with the scale of the more recent developments.