Center for River Studies and Exhibition Design

completed
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Project Goals:

The design of a 9,000 square foot exhibition space and development of exhibit content on coastal protection and restoration to be housed in the Center for River Studies.

Project Team:
  • PROJECT LEADERS
    • Jeff Carney Former Director, Coastal Sustainability Studio
    • Shelby Doyle
    • Jacob Mitchell
    • Matthew Dunn Associate Professor of Interior Design
    • Karen May
  • RESEARCH PARTNERS
    • Jori Erdman, AIA, LEED AP
    • Robert Twilley, PhD Chairman of the Board & Interim CSS Executive Director
      Executive Director, Louisiana Sea Grant
      Professor, LSU College of the Coast & Environment
    • Clint Willson, PhD, PE Mike N. Dooley, P.E. Professor, College of Engineering
      Director, LSU Center for River Studies
    • John R. White, PhD Associate Director, Coastal Studies Institute
      Director, Wetlands & Aquatic Biogeochemistry Lab
      Professor, School of the Coast & Environment
    • Elizabeth Mossop
    • James Sullivan
    • Courtney Barr
  • CSS RESEARCH FELLOWS
    • Brendan Gordon
    • Leanna Heffner
    • Justine Holzman
    • Keith A Maung-Douglass
    • Sarah Schramm
    • Johanna Hoffman
  • STUDENTS
    • Steven Armstrong
    • Brady Barclay
    • Gyan Basyal
    • Lindsay Boley
    • Kayla Bosarge
    • Charlston Britton
    • James Canales
    • Benjamin Champagne
    • Leandro Couto de Almeida
    • Kelli Cunningham
    • Lydia Gikas
    • Benjamin Hartman
    • Maureen Jackson
    • Alexis Malone
    • Elliot Manuel
    • Zachary McLain
    • Angela New
    • Vedika Nigam
    • Linsey Olivier
    • Madeline Richard
    • Will Rienhardt
    • Karl Schmidt
    • Jennifer Trippett
    • Sean Williams
    • Xuan Kuai
    • Chris He
    • Ran Liu
    • Giovanni Coakley
    • Jessamin Straub
    • Zach McLain
    • Matthew Ketterer
    • Julie Olson
    • Alex Agnew Jr.
    • Erin Percevault
    • Isabel Rountree
    • Matthew Faust
    • Nanfang Lu
    • Sunantana Nunlaor
  • PARTNERS + SPONSORS
    • Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority

Contracted by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), the CSS has partnered with researchers from LSU to design a coastal exhibition space in the Center for River Studies. As part of the Water Campus, the center and will house a 10,000 square foot physical model of the Lower Mississippi River Basin engineered to test sediment flows, distribution, and land building. The physical model is designed to test hydraulic and sediment dynamics along the Mississippi River from Donaldsonville to the Bird’s Foot Delta. The model serves as an important research and education tool to test large-scale management strategies in the river and the delta.

Direct + Broader Impacts:
The model and the exhibit serve as an important tool for teaching people about the tremendous challenges – and opportunities – Louisiana faces along its coast. The CSS brings a truly unique blend of knowledge to the project. It has fostered an ongoing dialogue between scientific researchers and designers in the development of an exhibition of significant design quality and value to the community.

Awards + Recognition
In October 2018 the LSU Coastal Sustainability Studio was selected as a Rose Award recipient by Baton Rouge chapter of the American Institute of Architects for the Center for River Studies exhibition. Rose award winners were selected by an independent jury based on design excellence.