NCDC Agenda July 6: Hoffman Elementary Threatened

UPDATE: The Neighborhood Conservation District Committee denied the request to demolish this school. The Recovery School District can appeal the committee’s decision to City Council.

Hoffman Elementary at 2622 S. Prieur St in the Hoffman Triangle neighborhood is one of the schools proposed for demolition and redevelopment by the Recovery School District. It is appearing on the Neighborhood Conservation District Committee (NCDC) Agenda for July 6, 2009. Hoffman was built in 1951 by New Orleans based architect Charles Colbert (1921-2007). Colbert designed several notable buildings in our region and received the Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 2007. He was known for blending modern architecture with vernacular responses appropriate for southern Louisiana’s hot and humid climate. For example, Colbert’s Wheatley Elementary in Treme was raised above a central yard in order to create play space for students, but it also had the effect of cooling the classrooms. This is similar to the French Colonial style of early colonists which has been recognized to be a highly efficient means of cooling interiors in our climate. Colbert took a similar approach with Hoffman Elementary, and he specifically designed the roof and windows to mitigate the effects of direct sunlight and increase ventilation inside the building. The result is a premier example of mid-century Modern architecture built with the special needs of the New Orleans climate in mind. Additionally, Colbert’s work was featured prominently in “Regional Modernism,” a 2007 exhibition at the Ogden museum curated by Melissa Urcan, the Executive Director of AIA New Orleans. Colbert was an important architect for the New Orleans area.

The Hoffman Triangle actually received its name from Hoffman Elementary because of the school’s central location in the neighborhood and its active parent and alumni associations. The area and the school itself suffers from years of pre- and post-Katrina blight and neglect, but Hoffman Elementary had all of the essential ingredients to become an anchor for the neighborhood prior to the storm. The missing element was investment. The Recovery School District is planning to replace Hoffman with a new building; however, the distinct style of Hoffman Elementary has been a fixture in the neighborhood and part of its architectural fabric for almost 60 years. Although the building received approximately 3 feet of flooding, this steel and concrete two-story building was not damaged beyond repair. A restored Hoffman Elementary would not only serve new students, it could also be a source of pride for alumni and neighborhood residents. A newly built, generically designed school would not foster these intangible elements, which can be so crucial to neighborhood pride and reinvestment. In a neighborhood that has already lost large chunks of its building stock since the storm, the answer is not to continue to demolish all that is familiar to the neighborhood, but to restore and invest in what is still there. This is particularly true for buildings like Hoffman Elementary, which exhibit a distinct architectural style and contribute to a unique sense of place.

The public is welcome to attend NCDC meetings and submit their comments to the Committee. The time for this meeting is Monday July 6, 2009 at 2:00 pm. 1300 Perdido St, New Orleans.

Visit the PRC Advocacy Department’s Flickr site to view photographs of Hoffman Elementary.