The Water Institute of the Gulf: Baton Rouge Campus Plan

JLP+D was part of an interdisciplinary team of architects, urban designers, engineers, and ecologists hired in 2013 by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF) to initiate a master planning process for the Water Institute of the Gulf, an ambitious new global hub and center of leadership in the field of coastal protection and water resource management. The consultant team engaged a broad array of stakeholders, including State and City officials, representatives from Louisiana State University, Southern University, the business community and civic organizations, to develop an understanding of the program, scope, aspiration, and vision of the proposed Water Institute campus. The design team gathered information on program requirements, and tested economic development opportunities, locational advantages, property ownership, land use and other regulatory constraints. The design team led a collaborative charrette to synthesize the preliminary analysis of the site, to articulate a preliminary set of project goals and an outline program, and to develop alternate frameworks of site organization. The work session concluded with a summary presentation to all of the stakeholders.

The team emphasized the need to plan beyond simply siting an institute’s new building, instead crafting a more ambitious, transformative, and sustainable new economic development model, centered around a new “Knowledge District” that is anchored by an internationally recognized first occupant, The Water Institute. Further, as the area that lies between the two principle drivers of the Baton Rouge economy—Downtown and LSU—the Water Institute campus will spur new private investment in mixed-use higher density development along Nicholson Drive and the corridor connecting these two major economic centers. Several key principles were identified to guide value creation within the development model. These include: gaining control of developable property as early as possible; leveraging the assets at hand; investing first in public space; reclaiming and animating the waterfront; investing in transit for smart growth; the critical importance of getting the first phase right.