Just as they were settling into their seats Doug and Mike had to get up not once, but twice to the podium to receive design awards. It was a nerve-wracking experience since the top awards are announced last, but well worth the wait.

Claiming one of the two top awards selected from a competitive field of 71 projects across the state, the St. Landry Parish Visitor Center in Opelousas received an AIA Louisiana Honor Award at the annual Design Conference held recently in Lafayette. To top off the night, the project was also awarded the Members’ Choice Award by the AIA membership. This marks only the third time that a project has received both top honors in the AIA Louisiana awards program history.

The projects design roots began with the commitment to jointly develop landscape and building concepts side-by-side from the outset. Through a continuous collaboration with Jeffrey Carbo Landscape Architects and Eddie Cazayoux of EnvironMental Design, the site was envisioned as a singular integrated concept where the interweaving of building and landscape enhances the visitor experience. As a testament to this concept, the implemented sustainable building strategies and natural resource management principles are communicated by the Visitor Center staff along with the promotion of cultural and ecological tourism.

We can’t thank our clients at the St. Landry Tourist Commission enough for their vision to do something different and their support of our design team’s effort. A special thanks go out to the Director of Tourism, Celeste Gomez, for her perseverance in seeing the project through from inception to completion. Additional thanks go out to our MEP engineers, M&E Consulting Inc. and the contractor, Ratcliff Construction for producing an exceptionally well-crafted building.

Andrew Pharis has joined the staff of ABW for the summer as an intern. Andrew recently completed his second year in the architecture program at LSU. Go, Tigers!

A Pineville native, one of Andrew’s hobbies is theatre: performing, singing, and as a set designer/builder. He recounts a story of when he ventured into Silver Dollar Pawn Shop (of “Cajun Pawn-Stars” fame) looking for thirty ceramic pigs for use as props. As it turned out, Silver Dollar had plenty of pigs and was glad to get rid of some of them.

Andrew is very involved in AIAS, the student chapter of the American Institute of Architects, serving as chapter president. He will attend the AIAS Grassroots leadership conference in Washington, D.C. in July.

Andrew has already proven to be a capable and cheerful worker. He has shown the necessary skills to be productive and make real contributions over the summer. ABW is fortunate to have his talents with us for the summer.

We are excited to announce the birth of a little girl, Reagan Leigh, on May 8th 2012 to parents Stephen and Christal Workman and big brother Stihl.

After three years with the Ashe Broussard Weinzettle team, we bid a joyful farewell to our dear friend Christal Workman. After the birth of her second child, Christal decided to take a break from the architectural grind to focus her energy on her children, but we still intend on having her join us for lunch occasionally. We will miss the spirit and energy Christal brought to our office, but wish her family all the joy and happiness they can stand.

We’re happy to announce that Shelly Strange, AIA, has completed the rigorous Architecture Registration Exam and has recently received her architectural license to practice from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.

Since joining the firm in 2007 upon graduating from Louisiana Tech University, Shelly has made significant contributions to the design quality of our firm and is resolute in improving and helping manage the technical proficiency of our staff. In addition to her considerable production capabilities, Shelly has a strong background in 3D modeling and rendering as well as a wide range of digital presentation skills.

Shelly has increasingly taken on a more active role in project management, continuing the pattern of continuing to challenge herself to become a more complete designer.

Our very own Amy Hickman Wallace extended this message to us as she introduced her latest design, “It is with great anticipation we introduce our second son, Robert Bruce Wallace, aka ‘Rab’, (which is Scottish for Rob), born on November 29, 2011. Our red-headed Rab has been a fun addition to our family.”

We all look forward to Amy’s return to the “tranquility” of our office; although we can’t promise that she won’t hear an occasional whine or two over the phone.