Under construction in Natchitoches, tucked in the north west of the state, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum maybe more about the natural water-bourn terrestrial topography of the region than about the collection of sports artifacts the museum will hold. Trahan Architect’s vision is based on the landscape the museum overlooks which is  formed by the Cane River Lake, a tributary of the Red River, cutting into the soft earth and becoming a crisscross of channels through the landscape.

The landscape is a contrast of an uncomplicated horizon broken by the ever undulating waterway. Likewise the Museum’s boxy exterior, clad in louvers of local wood opens to a parametric built environment where light and space is formed by a series of complex walls. The fluid interior breaks the program into the discrete elements to house sports memorabilia from renowned athletes of Louisiana and the regional history museum’s collection.

The interior’s dominant cast stone walls, BIM designed and individually built and layered creates the subterranean quality of a carved room from water which is lit from multiple directions by the open exterior, adding relief to the heavy formations. The walls act as objects in their own right, transforming the entrance atrium space into a geological fantasy, formulated by the natural surroundings but very much distinct and un-nostalgic.


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