New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Renovation

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana

Owner

Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center

Collaborators +

Project Size

Renovated area: 168,000 square feet

Project Status

Completed

Services

Architecture, Interior Design, Planning, Renovation + Adaptive Reuse

Originally constructed for the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition, the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center New Orleans Hall A renovation provides multi-purpose space to better meet the needs of its convention center business and recreate the primary entry welcoming delegates from the French Quarter and area hotels.

The conversion of Hall A, an existing 100,000 square foot exhibit hall, into a 60,000 square foot multi-purpose ballroom and associated pre-function space addresses the need for a heightened user experience for banquet and ballroom events while retaining the potential for exhibit use. Programmable lighting systems animate the ballroom, supporting the range of anticipated functions. Color, pattern, and graphics integrated into the interior finishes recall the Mississippi River and the local flora, people, and language that make New Orleans the distinctive place that it is.

Transformation of the existing understated entry into an enlarged entry and plaza provides natural daylighting into the interior spaces, improves the facility operations, and provides visibility and a strong identity for the convention center in this active urban neighborhood. Discovered through this transformation was the opportunity for a signature meeting and banquet space located at the front door to the city.