Founded in 2016, GOAT — Global Office of Architecture + Taste — is a New Orleans-based design practice that offers clients creative, bespoke solutions in architecture, interiors and branding. “We believe that thoughtful design should do more than just serve a functional need or meet an ascribed set of parameters; the spaces we create should reflect the lifestyles that happen inside them, foster community and connection, and bring genuine joy to those that use them.”
What are you most excited about in the coming year?
We are celebrating GOAT’s 10th anniversary this October and currently have several projects that we are excited about and that reflect the breadth of what we do. We will soon be celebrating the grand opening for a project that is a collaboration with Tulane University for College Track, an incredible organization that provides academic support to local students from high school through college graduation. Our reimagining of the Gretna Marketplace pavilion is under construction and it will have a tremendous positive impact on downtown Gretna’s streetscape. We are also currently working on the design for the restoration of the Aldrich-Genella House on St. Charles Avenue, which has generated a lot of public interest and creative excitement in our studio.
What is the biggest challenge facing your industry today, and is anything being done about it?
We face many of the same challenges as the regional construction and real estate industry at large. The high costs of materials, labor, borrowing and insurance have made projects very expensive, and that adds significantly to the burden on architects to meet client expectations. However, we pride ourselves in being relentlessly optimistic and endlessly creative when it comes to finding solutions to hard problems. One strategy that has proven successful is helping our clients to re-frame their focus from the most immediate challenges to a project’s long-term viability and legacy. In a city like New Orleans with such a rich history and an uncertain future, most clients care deeply about how their project fits within the city’s story and how it can contribute to reinforcing our future.
