Dissolve

Dissolve is a mixed-use office building in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans.

An analysis of the French Quarter city blocks determined the condition of thorough street frontage that then opened up in the center via an accumulation of courtyards. This condition is translated into the project as one travels towards the center of the building. There is a transition from solid mass at the street level to a completely open courtyard at the center of the site by “dissolving” the mass.

The circulation towards the main courtyard includes a series of smaller courtyards in order to entail a sense of voids increasing in size within the building.

The office program begins on the second floor and has an open design with the exception of courtyards, light wells, and atriums that partially compartmentalize the space. The studio constraints include ceiling heights of twelve feet which are interrupted with the integration of various double height spaces.

All courtyards within the building are designed with a height dimension that must be less than 3x their length in order to maximize the quality of natural light.