With its bold use of color and thoughtful design interventions a converted 1920s house on Magazine Street in Uptown New Orleans reflects the evolution of an architectural firm that has reinvented itself roughly every 10 years—from Wayne Troyer Architect to studioWTA and now practis.
Partners Tracie Ashe and Julie Babin lead this woman-owned firm, which officially became practis after the passing of their mentor, Wayne Troyer, in 2019, and the subsequent upheaval of the pandemic years.
The move to 3450 Magazine St. represented more than just a change of address—it was an opportunity to create a space that embodies their outlook on architecture: approachable, collaborative and rooted in the fabric of the neighborhood.
When Troyer founded the firm in the mid-1990s, he was a sole practitioner. Ashe joined in early 2003 and Babin in 2006.
“My thesis year [at Tulane University] began just days before Katrina hit, and, by the time I graduated, I couldn’t imagine leaving,” said Babin. “The city was in the midst of rebuilding, and I wanted to be part of the effort to restore the New Orleans I had grown to love.”
Around 2013, Troyer began discussing a partnership with Ashe and Babin, leading to a rebrand as studioWTA and their official partnership in 2016. Before his death, he gave them important advice—that when the time came, they should make the firm their own, including changing the name. That moment arrived when their old lease ended and the two women found themselves seeking a fresh start in a post-pandemic landscape.
The decision to move from the Warehouse District to Uptown brought unexpected benefits.
“There’s a wonderful energy and buzz along Magazine Street that feels contagious,” said Babin. “The street is tree-lined, a refreshing contrast to the more industrial feel of the Warehouse District, and everything we need is within walking distance: coffee shops, restaurants and daily conveniences.”
The increased foot traffic along Magazine Street also has proven advantageous in unexpected ways.
“A few clients have found us simply by seeing our sidewalk sign and walking in to learn more about our work,” said Babin. The location’s residential character also aligns perfectly with the firm’s identity. “Being in a converted house feels homey and reflects who we are as a company.”
The building, constructed in the 1920s as a single-family residence, was purchased in 1996 and converted to commercial use for a shutter business. For practis, the bones of the historic structure provided an ideal canvas for their small firm of only four employees (another independent contractor works remotely).
True to their philosophy of respecting historic elements while embracing contemporary style, the partners approached their office design with a light touch. The primary architectural intervention involved opening a portion of a wall to create a cased opening connecting two office areas. “We ensured the new opening is proportionate to the existing tall doors and transoms in the space, while detailing it with a complementary, simple natural wood surround,” Babin says. “This perfectly reflects our reverence for the old, while embracing the new.”
The spatial layout includes a conference room with large windows overlooking Magazine Street and six desks spread across three connected office areas—two desks per room—each flowing into the next through generous openings. “This creates a semi-private environment that strikes a nice balance between the completely open layout of our old office and a more traditional private office setup,” Babin says. The compact property also includes a small materials library, restroom, kitchen, storage room and back shed.
The most dramatic transformation came through the interior design.
“The biggest change we made to our space is the color,” Babin says. “Just about everyone who visits compliments the use of color. People are often hesitant to go all in on color in their own homes, so when they step into our space and see it fully embraced, it makes them happy.”
The partners experimented thoughtfully with color application, making intentional decisions about where to start and stop each hue. “For example, we extended the green color above the fireplaces onto the ceiling, which catches people’s attention,” Babin says. This confident use of color serves both as a design statement and as a demonstration to clients of what’s possible when embracing bold choices.
Like any home, the practis office remains a work in progress. Future plans include upgrading the kitchen, adding large doors to close off the conference room from other office spaces, refinishing floors, adding wallpaper, replacing the attic stair and improving insulation. “Our new office will probably never be finished,” Babin says. “It’s like owning a home—there is always something you want to change, fix, update or tweak.”
The space also has become a venue for community engagement through Art for Arts’ Sake, an annual event the firm has hosted for three years. Their programming has featured artists from Cuba, art by architects and, most recently, photography by local photographers—each opening a success that reinforces their connection to the New Orleans creative community.
As a woman-led firm in a profession where only about 27% of licensed architects are women, Ashe and Babin bring what they describe as a unique attentiveness to their work. “Being a woman-led architecture firm means leading with empathy, collaboration and an openness to multiple perspectives,” Babin says. “We tend to listen deeply and care not only about the projects themselves but about the people who inhabit them.”
The new office on Magazine Street embodies this philosophy—a space that’s purposeful yet personal, historic yet contemporary and finished yet evolving. In fact, it’s a physical manifestation of practis itself.
“We chose the name for its simplicity and layered meaning, which is a nod to both the discipline of architecture and the continual practice of learning, evolving and refining,” Babin says.
practis
3450 Magazine St. // practis.design
Quick Look
Number of Years in Operation: Almost 32
Style of architecture: Contemporary with a reverence for the historic
Number of Employees: Five (Four women in the local office and one independent contractor working from Valencia, Spain)
Persons in Charge: Tracie Ashe and Julie Babin
Architecture: practis
Interior Décor: practis
Initial Brand Development: Scout (graphic design) and Luke Jones (writer)
