Robert Garcia, AIA, NCARB, project architect for Holly & Smith Architects, is Tulane University School of Professional Advancement Media + Design Program’s newest adjunct instructor. Garcia is currently teaching introduction to modeling for design and animation students for Summer 2021. SoPA’s Media + Design program began offering 3-D...

As Holly & Smith Architects continued to grow, a Strategic Plan was developed by firm leadership. With a key initiative being to create another design studio, New Orleans was considered for our expansion. This initiative was realized after the...

A groundbreaking ceremony was held recently for the Village De L’Est Multi-Purpose Building. Mayor LaToya Cantrell joined other city officials and neighborhood leaders to break ground for this community center that will serve NORD in District E . “This is an exciting project for New Orleans East and...

The Importance of Interior Design in Architecture “We shape the buildings and then the buildings shape us .” Winston Churchill Interior Design and Architecture go hand in hand. Fully integrating the two is of the utmost importance...

Development & Implementation – A 25-Year Look In 2025, Southeastern Louisiana University is coming up on its 100th Anniversary. The institution has seen many iterations of growth over its life. During the early part of the 1990s, Southeastern was noted as being the...

A 40 YEAR EXPERIENCE At Holly & Smith Architects, we are proud to celebrate our participation in the revitalization of Hammond’s downtown. We have seen and been a part of the 40-year evolution from empty buildings to a living, breathing community celebrating its purpose as the center of...

H/S Associate Principal Robert Boyd has been appointed to the Central Business District Historic District Landmarks Commission Architectural Review Committee in New Orleans. The CBD Historic District Landmarks Commission (HDLC) is the regulatory agency for the local Historic Districts and Landmarks in the Central...

Human beings spend most of their personal and professional time within the built environment. As architects, we create the spaces and places where people live their life. How we learn, work, eat, sleep, heal, worship, and gather are all improved by the quality of the space and...

A groundbreaking ceremony was held recently for the NOPD 4th District Police Station. Mayor LaToya Cantrell joined other officials to celebrate the opening in Algiers, Louisiana. "Capital Projects is honored to participate in the construction of this new, 18,000 square foot, state-of-the-art police station. The station will be...

When software development company Envoc decided to relocate its Baton Rouge office from the Perkins Rowe mixed-use development to City Farm office park, it enlisted Holly & Smith Architects to design the build-out of the 3,400 square foot shell space. H/S designed Envoc’s previous space around the ...

In 1980, Michael Holly formed the architectural firm of Michael Holly & Associates with encouragement from friends in the Hammond community offering him business opportunities. The first five years consisted of commissions for private residences, multi-family housing, and light commercial work; however, the most...

After 40 years of practicing architecture in the region, Holly & Smith Architects APAC of Hammond and New Orleans has appointed new leadership, setting the stage for the organization's future. Initiated by Michael Holly in 1980,...

It is with great pleasure that Holly & Smith Architects, APAC announces our 40th anniversary as a design firm! We appreciate having the opportunity to contribute to the built environment during this time, starting from humble beginnings to the vibrant and energetic organization that we are today. ...

Once again, Governor John Bel Edwards has reappointed Jeffrey K. Smith to the State Fire Prevention Board of Review. The Fire Prevention Board of Review is established to evaluate alternatives to fire prevention or protection laws and regulations established by the fire marshal when...

On Thursday, November 5th, AIA New Orleans held its annual Design Awards ceremony. Each year their awards program accomplishes three simple, yet invaluable, goals: celebrate the best of this region’s architecture, recognize achievement in a broad range of architectural...

On Thursday, November 5th, AIA Baton Rouge held its annual Rose Awards Gala, a competition recognizing and awarding outstanding design projects in various categories. While this year’s ceremony looked a little different going virtual, H/S celebrated from our very own conference room. The H/S team was ...

H/S Interior Design Emerging Professional, Gabrielle Landry, has been voted in as a new Board Member with the Hammond Regional Arts Center. As a Hammond Regional Arts Center Board Member, Gabby will be helping to build the future of...

On Thursday, September 10th, architects from the Gulf States Region of the American Institute of Architects assembled via Zoom to celebrate the 2020 Design Awards. The honors program identifies built works of distinction and strives to promote the excellent work by architects from Alabama, ...

On Thursday, August 27th, IIDA Delta Regional Chapter held its annual Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), a forum for recognizing excellence in interior design within the region of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The competition’s purpose is to celebrate outstanding examples of designed interior spaces....

Leadership Tangipahoa is for individuals interested in developing their skills as leaders, increasing their knowledge of our community, and learning what they can do to actively participate in community affairs. Throughout the program, class sessions on various aspects of Tangipahoa Parish were held each...

Principal Architect Michael Holly was recently appointed as sub-committee chairman of the Construction Resilience Committee for the Resilient Louisiana Commission. The Resilient Louisiana Commission (RLC) is charged with making recommendations for more resilient business-related activities and commerce in the wake of COVID-19. Louisiana Governor...

We hope you have had a chance by now to have tried out Katie's Pumpkin Bread, Mary's Syrian-Lebanese Risbishadia, or Ryan’s Banana Nut Bread recipe over the last few weeks. Since we all have found ourselves quarantined in our homes with much...

We hope you have had a chance to try the recipes we have shared so far the last two weeks, including Mary's Syrian-Lebanese Risbishadia and Ryan's Banana Nut Bread, this week we have another tasty dish to satisfy that sweet tooth. Another one of our H/S home chef’s is putting her...

We were thrilled to hear many of you tested out Ryan’s Banana Nut Bread recipe last week. And this week we have another yummy dish that is sure to please your taste buds. ...

With many of us working from home, or our office environments temporarily changed, we know that everyone is managing various adjustments in their lives. Since many of our staff at H/S are also very talented in the kitchen, we thought we would share some of our favorite (and easy) recipes to...

On March 10, Affordable Smiles celebrated the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for its new dental clinic in Hammond, Louisiana. H/S designed the tenant improvements and exterior renovations for this build-out of a 4,176 square foot dental office located on Hwy 190 in Hammond. The ceremony...

On October 3rd, Northshore Technical Community College celebrated the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for its new Livingston Parish Campus. Located in Walker, Louisiana, this is the first community college in Livingston Parish. The ceremony was followed by an Open House where guests were invited ...

Kevin J. Morris was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for The Green Project - a New Orleans based nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote a culture of “Creative Reuse” by diverting discarded paint and building waste materials from local landfills. Since its conception in...

On September 23rd, Southeastern Louisiana University hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony, officially celebrating the opening of two new residence halls on campus - Ascension Hall and Twelve Oaks Hall. This 556-bed new student housing center consists of two 4-story residence halls located on...

Rotary Clubs of GNO participated this past weekend in a clean up effort supported by the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. The goal was to remove waste, plastics and environmentally harmful materials from Bayou St. John drainage areas before they can enter into the Lake Pontchartrain tributaries. Multiple ...

On Friday, September 13th, AIA Louisiana held its annual Awards Ceremony at the AIA LA 2019 Conference on Architecture in Baton Rouge. A nationally recognized panel of judges selected 11 winning projects from 69 entries in seven categories, submitted by architects across the state. Several members ...

Holly & Smith Architects’ Principal Architect, Jeffrey Smith, has spent the last few months talking about the History and Revitalization of Downtown Hammond, speaking in May at the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation Conference and in June to the IFMA Baton Rouge Chapter. And this month, he ...

On August 28th, St. Michael Special School hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new chapel and restored Convent Building. Archbishop Gregory Aymond presided over the building’s dedication and blessing, followed by a prayer service. The ribbon-cutting marks the successful completion of a capital campaign begun...

On Friday, July 26th, AIA Baton Rouge held its annual Rose Awards Gala, a competition recognizing and awarding outstanding design projects in various categories. Several members of the H/S team were there to accept the Gold Rose Award for Cambria Hotel Nashville, the Rose Award and Members...

Architect and Lead Designer, Pierre Theriot, has been accepted to the Class of 2020 for NORLI’s Regional Leadership Program. Over the next 10 months, Pierre will take part in seven independent monthly seminars as part of an immersive learning experience that focuses not only on community issues,...

Leadership Tangipahoa is for individuals interested in developing their skills as leaders, increasing their knowledge of our community, and learning what they can do to actively participate in community affairs. Throughout the program, class sessions on various aspects of Tangipahoa Parish were held each month on topics...

The Governor’s Mansion Preservation Foundation was created in 1996 by First Lady Alice Foster for the purpose of updating the run-down Governor’s Mansion. The mission of the Foundation was to identify, secure, and manage assets dedicated to the refurbishment and preservation of the Mansion properties ...

On Wednesday, May 15th, the Louisiana Landmarks Society presented the 2019 Award Winners for Excellence in Historic Preservation at Hotel Peter & Paul in New Orleans. The Awards honor projects completed in Orleans Parish that represent outstanding examples of restoration, rehabilitation or new construction...

Holly & Smith Architects prepared the first comprehensive master planning study of the Southeastern Louisiana University Campus in the year 2000. Within the original plan, design guidelines were developed that established the groundwork and outlined the elements by which all circulation, buildings, hardscape and...

On April 4th, Neurocovery of Louisiana celebrated the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for its new medical and rehabilitation facility. Located in Covington, Louisiana, Neurocovery opened its doors to the community...

Moving is a big task. Multiply that by 500 people, add in 600 computers and numerous pieces of medical equipment, and that’s what took place at the Ochsner Medical Complex at High Grove. In January 2019, H/S served as the Move Planner/Coordinator for Ochsner...

Mary Guiteau was invited by First Lady Donna Edwards to be a charter member of the newly-formed Phi Mu Ladies of Louisiana organization. The organization’s purpose is to provide scholarships and charitable donations. It will raise money to provide scholarships to collegiate students throughout the state ...

On January 29, Envoc celebrated the ribbon cutting of the new Innovation Lab located in the newly constructed Computer Science and Technology Building at Southeastern Louisiana University. Envoc has offices in Baton Rouge and Hammond, and the new lab will provide a work-like environment for senior ...

Pierre Theriot, architect and partner at H/S Architects, has been appointed as the 2019 Board Chairman for the Hammond Downtown Development District. The Hammond DDD is devoted to progressing and stimulating business development and diversity, and they are constantly evolving to bring commerce, entertainment, ...

H/S Interior Designer, Mary Guiteau, recently spoke about Adaptive Reuse as a Workplace Strategy at IFMA’s World Workplace Conference & Expo in Charlotte, North Carolina. Held annually in cities across the U.S., World Workplace is the most longstanding and well-respected learning and networking event ...

On Friday, September 27th, AIA Louisiana celebrated its 75th Anniversary with an Awards Gala at the U.S. Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Several members of the H/S team were there to accept the Honor Award recognizing the...

The Louisiana National Guard’s Readiness Center in Franklinton, LA, has been awarded Gold-level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).The project was designed by Holly & Smith Architects of Hammond, LA, with...

On August 30, Delgado celebrated the ribbon cutting of their new River City Campus. Located in Avondale, Louisiana, the new Delgado River City Site and Advanced Manufacturing Center began classes on August 18. This new campus is a response to the demands of business and industry for a...

Rohit Sood, Associate Principal and Director of Sustainable Design for H/S Architects, has been invited to be a judge for the Salvage Design Competition for Salvations 2018. The competition challenges designers, woodworkers, artists and makers in Louisiana and the Gulf South to create one-of-a-kind...

On Friday, July 27th, AIA Baton Rouge held its annual Rose Awards Gala, a competition recognizing and awarding outstanding design projects in various categories. Several members of the H/S team were there to accept the Rose Award and USGBCLA Sustainability Award recognizing the design of the Pinto...

Human beings spend most of their personal and professional time within the built environment. As architects, we create the spaces and places where people live their life. How we learn, work, eat, sleep, heal, worship, and gather are all improved by the quality of the space and...

For a second year, H/S Architects’ Principal, Michael Holly, and Emerging Professional, Abigail Comeau, gave a sustainability tour of The Pond House at Ten Oaks Farm to high school students from the Southeastern Louisiana University Math Science Upward Bound program. The Math Science Upward...

Leadership Tangipahoa is for individuals interested in developing their skills as leaders, increasing their knowledge of our community, and learning what they can do to actively participate in community affairs. This program shows the participants firsthand what it means to be a leader by introducing ...

Academy Place in Houma, Louisiana was recently approved as a Green Communities certified development through the Enterprise Green Communities. This project, which was a complete renovation of the historic Houma Elementary School into affordable senior housing, incorporates many green building strategies, including durable materials,...

Members of H/S attended the 19th annual Celebrate Architecture hosted by AIA Louisiana, which was held on Friday, April 20th at the Manship Theatre in Baton Rouge. Celebrate Architecture is a lecture series in which architects from Louisiana and around the world are invited to speak ...

A groundbreaking ceremony was held recently for the renovations and additions to St. Michael Special School in New Orleans. The ceremony was highlighted by a performance of the St. Michael Special School Bell Choir and included a blessing by Archbishop Gregory Aymond. The project includes the restoration of...

AIA New Orleans recently held their annual Design Awards Ceremony at the at the WWII Museum in New Orleans, where The Moon at 631 Desire Street won the Historic Preservation, Restoration + Adaptive Re-use Award of Merit. This H/S project was a renovation of a historic Quonset...

On March 29, the Cambria brand celebrated the grand opening of their new Cambria Hotel & Suites at 118 8th Ave, located in the heart of Nashville’s SoBro District. It was a celebration filled with familiar sounds of live country music, fire dancing acrobats,...

Kevin J. Morris was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for Manresa House of Retreats located in Convent, Louisiana. Over the past 14 years, Kevin has “Religiously” attended his retreat along with Group 22, which typically falls in the early summer. Over the...

A New Orleans-style grand opening celebration was held on January 11 for the new Cambria Hotel & Suites at 632 Tchoupitoulas Street, complete with a marching band, floats, and a second line parade. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and New Orleans Mayor-Elect LaToya Cantrell were among the...

Completed this past December, the Zemurray Park Master Plan charts a new vision and roadmap for the redevelopment of Zemurray Park in the City of Hammond for the next 20 years. The 33-acre park’s proximity to downtown, its history, and now its new redevelopment vision, will create a...

Principal Architect, Michael Holly, recently attended the Association for Learning Environments’ (A4LE) LearningSCAPES 2017 Conference held in Atlanta, GA. A4LE’s mission is to connect those whose passion is to create the best possible learning spaces...

Southeastern Louisiana University Science and Technology Building held its ribbon cutting this past November, with state and university officials in attendance, including Gov. John Bel Edwards, President of the University of Louisiana System Jim Henderson, Sen. Beth Mizell, state representatives Chris Broadwater, Robby Carter...

Delgado held its Circle of Excellence Outstanding Alumni Dinner this month at The Forum, where Christie Badinger, an Emerging Professional at H/S Architects, received the Delgado Community College Circle of Excellence Award. This award recognizes the achievements, service and character of outstanding Delgado alumni. ...

What if kids ruled the world? What would it look like…a world of candy bars and crayons? Well, “Building Blocks: If Kids Ruled the City” is an interactive experience where kids ages 7-11, their parents, and siblings, aided by architects and construction professionals, get to build a...

H/S Architects recently attended the 50th Anniversary Gala for Trinity Community Center, which was celebrated at the Audubon Tea Room. The event, led by their current executive director, Jarvain Bingmon, featured the mission and vision of its founder, Rev. William Brown and the inspiration which ...

Academy Place, a 103-unit senior housing development, held its Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony this past October, with local leaders and representatives of Volunteers of America in attendance. With a location immediately adjacent to downtown Houma, this project is a complete renovation of...

Each year, AIA celebrates the best buildings and spaces and the people behind them, by recognizing and awarding outstanding design projects in various categories. To inspire excellence in architecture, the American Institute of Architects conducts an annual Awards Program. Through this program, AIA seeks...

Child Advocacy Services (CAS) kicked off their 9th Annual Cottages for CASA playhouse raffle this past July. Cottages for CASA is a playhouse fundraiser to generate public awareness and funding to support the work of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) services ...

H/S Architects’ Principal, Michael Holly, and Emerging Professional, Abi Comeau, gave a sustainability tour of The Pond House at Ten Oaks Farm to high school students from the Southeastern Louisiana University Math Science Upward Bound program. The Math Science Upward Bound program provides experiential,...

Katie Leleaux joined H/S Architects as an Emerging Professional in June of 2017. Katie is a recent graduate of the University of Louisiana Lafayette, where she received the Outstanding Master’s Graduate for the class of Spring 2017, the highest honor...

AIA Louisiana recently held their annual Design Conference & Expo. This year the conference was held in Point Clear, Alabama. Architects from H/S Architects attended this 2-day event, where H/S Architects’ project, The Moon at 631 Desire Street, received the 2017 AIA Louisiana...

The Pinto House was recently featured in the Times Picayune in the Home and Garden article "Modern farmhouse blends cutting-edge design with rural charm on a La. blueberry farm". Situated within the owner’s You Pickem Blueberry Farm on the outskirts of Covington, Louisiana, H/S...

On Friday, July 28th, the AIA Baton Rouge held its annual Rose Awards Gala, a competition recognizing and awarding outstanding design projects in various categories. Several members of the H/S team were there to accept the Gold Rose Award, USGBC Sustainability Award, and the Member's Choice Award...

The Moon at 631 Desire Street was recently featured in the Times Picayune Inside Out Home & Garden article titled "Renovated Quonset Hut is Bywater's Answer to the Boutique Hotel". The article includes an interview with H/S architect, Michael Holly, and owner, Graham Holly, sharing some of...

In June 2017, Governor John Bel Edwards reappointed Jeffrey K. Smith, AIA to the State Fire Prevention Board of Review. The Fire Prevention Board of Review is established to evaluate alternatives to fire prevention or protection laws and regulations established by the ...

Principal Architect and Founder of Holly & Smith Architects, Michael Holly, AIA REFP, has been appointed to the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation Board of Directors. Founded in June 1979 as the Louisiana Preservation Alliance, the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation (LTHP) is a statewide coalition which advocates ...

Pierre E. Theriot, AIA and Kevin J. Morris, AIA of Holly & Smith Architects recently participated in the first session of the Emerging Leaders Institute series offered through the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Louisiana and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Louisiana. ...

On March 29, 2017 members from H/S Architects recently joined Choice Hotels International, Fillmore Hospitality and general contractor Integra Construction at the site of the Cambria Hotel & Suites Nashville to celebrate the “topping off”. Project Architect for H/S Architects, Rohit...