On a lot on Gravier Street in New Orleans, a set of converted mobile trailers has quietly served as a lifeline for thousands of unhoused individuals every year since 2007.
Built in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as a temporary solution, the Harry Tompson Center was never meant to last this long. But it did, and now, after a $3.6 million capital campaign and two phases of construction, it has been transformed from a temporary patchwork into a permanent facility designed with the same values the center has always embodied—dignity, compassion and respect.
Local architecture and design firm Practis—the same firm (then known as Wayne Troyer Architect) that originally designed the center nearly two decades ago — led the renovation. Returning to their own work with fresh eyes, the team faced the unique challenge of honoring the spirit of what existed while building something worthy of the people it serves.
The Harry Tompson Center is a nonprofit day shelter operating within the larger St. Joseph Rebuild Center. Each morning when staff open the doors, as many as 200 people line up on Gravier Street, where they are greeted by name and asked what they need. Showers, laundry, case management, medical care, phone access and a safe place to rest are all available, free of charge.
“Our hygiene services act as a gateway to greater care,” said Emily Bussen Wain, executive director of HTC. “While our guests wait for services, we work with them to understand their immediate and long-term goals and provide them with the resources and assistance they need to move forward.”
For years, those services were delivered through aging, deteriorating trailers that strained under the weight of daily demand.
“Our plumbing could not keep up with demand, and we were constantly dealing with flooded toilets, issues with shower pressure, no hot water in the sinks and a myriad of other concerning structural issues,” Wain said. The capital campaign, launched in fall 2021, raised $3.6 million and made the transformation possible.
For Tracie Ashe, partner at Practis, returning to the project after nearly 20 years was deeply meaningful.
“Of all the projects in our portfolio, The Rebuild Center is one of the most impactful and relevant pieces of work our firm has ever done,” she said. “Revisiting it was bittersweet. It’s heartening and humbling to see the love and care the tenants and guests have shown it over the years, creating a safe, welcoming space for everyone; on the opposite hand, the fact that the center is still so very necessary is sobering.”
The original 2007 design centered on an open courtyard flanked by prefabricated trailers, with long, low roofs connecting structures, filtering natural light and directing breezes through the space. The new design preserves that organizing idea.
“It was important to preserve the spirit of the original facility as an assemblage of independent structures connected by walkways and roofs,” said Ashe.
Guests enter through an original covered portal on Gravier Street — a series of oversized pivoting panels that, when open, dissolve the boundary between inside and outside. From the courtyard just inside, nearly the entire facility is visible. Built-in seating rings the space, a trellis supports mature climbing plants, and a stair and ramp lead up to a raised circulation deck that connects all parts of the center.
Clear polycarbonate panels in the metal roof wash the Gravier Street seating area in natural light. At the end of each shower and toilet corridor, perforated metal provides both visual permeability and air circulation. Phone booths — one of the renovation’s most requested additions — are wrapped in blue powder-coated perforated metal, offering acoustic privacy while maintaining a connection to the surrounding space.
Moving deeper into the facility, additional polycarbonate roof panels bathe four individual counseling rooms in natural light. The staff office building features tall, sloped ceilings and a corridor that doubles as a copy and storage area, with custom panel doors operated by a rope and pulley system. A direct internal connection links the offices to the medical bay, which includes three exam rooms and a dedicated intake area.
Ashe says that every design decision was filtered through a single question: “Does this serve our guests to the highest and best degree possible?” That commitment shaped choices from layout to materials to the smallest details.
Of primary concern was preserving what the design team called a sense of “safety without constraint.” For example, perforated metal and translucent materials screen the courtyard and outdoor spaces from the street — providing visual privacy without creating a closed or institutional environment.
Meanwhile, circulation areas are spacious, allowing guests to move past one another without contact.
“Our unhoused neighbors are frequently subject to violations of their personal space causing anxiety and discomfort,” said Ashe. “Our direct design response utilized generous circulation, gathering and seating areas throughout the new center. Guests can spread out and move past one another without touching, facilitating a calm atmosphere.”
Material choices also were carefully considered. Wood decking and framing, perforated metal siding and strategic polycarbonate roof panels elevate the design to something more akin to a treehouse or retreat, rather than a clinical facility. Meanwhile, planters constructed from boards salvaged from the original medical bay speak to both sustainability and continuity.
Inside, the HTC team brought their own warmth to the space. Most signage is hand-drawn, colorful and inspiring. A daily whiteboard near the showers posts the weather, news updates and sometimes a joke of the day. A jasmine mural by artist Madison Roy covers a prominent wall.
“It is designed to be welcoming and offer an oasis away from the harsh realities of living on the streets,” said Wain.
The design also responds directly to New Orleans’ demanding climate. A major feature of the renovation is an expanded covered deck with seating areas providing shelter from sun and rain. A low-slope, decoupled roof facilitates cross ventilation, and fans are positioned throughout outdoor areas. The raised deck mitigates flood damage, and site drainage was improved during initial construction.
Phase I, completed in March 2025, delivered 10 new shower stalls (including ADA-compliant options), six restrooms, communal sinks with hot water, a commercial laundry room and most of the large open deck. Phase II, completed in September 2025, added the offices, medical bay, phone booths and four counseling rooms.
For Wain, the addition of on-site commercial laundry may be the single biggest quality-of-life improvement.
“We used to provide laundry at our satellite site; however, in 2024, that service shut down,” she said. “Now, we are able to do approximately 400 loads of guests’ laundry a month. Also, hot water in the communal sinks is a game-changer for shaving in cold weather.”
For Ashe and her team, the measure of success is simple.
“Our resolution to honor the design spirit of the original center was the linchpin from which all other decisions sprung,” she said. “The center, as it was, already changed people’s days and lives. Our new design humbly strove to maintain and bolster that spirit.”
QUICK LOOK
Years in Operation
26
Total Square Footage
Full Rebuild Center: 16,839
Phase I: 1,040
Phase II: 1,800
Architecture
Practis, LLC with Mark I. Baum, Architect
General Contractor
Phase I: Gibbs Construction
Phase II: Grant Ethridge Construction
Number of Employees
8
Harry Tompson Center
1803 Gravier St.
504-273-5547
harrytompsoncenter.org
