NEW ORLEANS – Architect’s Newspaper has named New Orleans-based architecture, interiors and urban planning firm EskewDumezRipple the 2026 Best of Practice Award winner in the Large Firm, Southwest category. The publication includes Louisiana in its Southwest region for the annual awards program.
Architect’s Newspaper’s Best of Practice Awards recognize firms and businesses shaping the built environment across North America. Unlike project-based awards, the program evaluates firms based on their overall practice, with jurors considering factors including design excellence, workplace culture and social impact.
“This recognition comes at a meaningful moment for us. As our practice continues to grow nationally, we remain grounded in the culture, creativity, and sense of community that shaped us in New Orleans,” said Christian Rodriguez, AIA, LEED Green Associate, Managing Principal with EskewDumezRipple. “It is a reminder of what has always made the firm strong: our people, our values, and our deep connection to place. We are proud to see that perspective contributing to national design conversations.”
While EskewDumezRipple remains deeply rooted in New Orleans, the firm has for years intentionally diversified its project mix to support work well beyond the region. In addition to offices in New Orleans, the firm has locations in Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C., and works on projects across the United States and internationally. Its portfolio ranges from intimate interior projects to large urban planning initiatives involving numerous stakeholders, reflecting the firm’s goal of building community regardless of project scale, budget or complexity.
EskewDumezRipple – Reflections on the Architect’s Newspaper Award
“We have always believed that design excellence starts with listening closely to people and place,” said Steve Dumez, FAIA, Principal and Director of Design with EskewDumezRipple. “To have that approach recognized nationally is incredibly rewarding, because it reinforces something we have seen throughout the history of our practice.”
“What feels especially meaningful is that this celebrates the full breadth of the practice. Our work is not just about buildings from the outside,” said Jill Traylor, NCIDQ, IIDA, LEED Green Associate, WELL AP
Principal and Director of Interior Design. “It is about the daily experience of the people who use them, the materials they touch, the spaces where they gather, and the sense of welcome they feel. That is very much a New Orleans value, and it continues to shape how we practice across the country.”
“For me, the most meaningful part is that it reflects the people-centered culture of the firm,” said José Alvarez, FAIA, LEED AP, NOMA, principal and director of Live/Work Studio with EskewDumezRipple. “That shows up in our projects, but it also shows up in efforts like Day of Service, where our teams use design to support local nonprofits and community partners. National visibility is exciting, but the real measure of the work is whether it helps people and strengthens the places we care about.”
“What I appreciate is that Best of Practice looks at the practice itself, not just a single project,” said Z Smith, PhD, FAIA, LEED Fellow, WELL AP, Fitwel & Living Building Ambassador, principal and director of sustainability and building performance with EskewDumezRipple. “For us, design excellence and building performance have never been separate conversations. They are part of the same responsibility to people, place, and the future.”
“The range of work happening across the firm says a lot about the care our teams bring to each project,” said Jack Sawyer, AIA, LEED AP, principal and director of learning environments with EskewDumezRipple. “In our education work, we are often helping institutions think about their future, their students, and the communities they serve. That same mindset runs across the practice. We are proud to be growing nationally, but the work is still shaped by the same New Orleans-rooted sense of curiosity, collaboration, and connection.”
“Strong design work is only part of the story,” said Jenifer Navard, principal and director of finance with EskewDumezRipple. “Growth also takes resilience, stewardship, and the ability to adapt through change. Our growth has never been about expansion for its own sake. It has been about building a practice that can support its people and serve clients through different economic cycles. That mindset carried EskewDumezRipple through pivotal moments, including the years after Hurricane Katrina, and it continues to shape how we grow nationally from New Orleans.”
The recognition highlights EskewDumezRipple’s continued growth from its New Orleans roots into a nationally recognized design practice.
