Usdan Announces Partnership with Trahan Architects

Usdan is excited to announce it's partnership with Trahan Architects — a multi-disciplinary and award-winning firm whose projects include the renovation of the Caesars Superdome (formerly the Mercedes-Benz Superdome) in New Orleans and the Coca-Cola Stage at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia — in creating a strategic master plan. The plan will support Usdan’s ongoing operations as an arts summer camp for children, development of new year-round programs for people of all ages, and revenue generation to support student scholarships and ensure the continuity of this dynamic place that has played a formative role in the lives of over 40,000 children.

The strategic master plan will outline a vision of a sustainable campus that leverages existing assets and is deeply rooted in nature – one which fosters creativity, community and an exploratory approach to learning; retaining Usdan’s incredible spirit of place and the very special connection to nature that makes this campus so unique.

Lauren Brandt Schloss, Usdan's Executive Director said, “Trahan Architects has such an acute passion for the relationship between land and the built environment. Usdan is both built structures and a wilderness landscape, so we thought Trahan's sensitivity to the natural world was a perfect fit. Further, when I walked the campus with founder and CEO, Trey Trahan, he talked about how the land itself will have all our answers. Creating a sustainable world for this community is a high priority for my colleagues and me, so Trahan’s respect for the lessons of the land will guide us in our work together.”

Usdan hopes that the campus will transform from one with a singular, summer arts program for youth to one with multi-faceted year-round arts programs for people of all ages. The partnership with Trahan will allow Usdan to plan for these changes and support the maximum benefit for the community with minimum impact on the land.

Trahan Architects’ New York City’s managing principal Kevin Thomas said, “Usdan embodies the transformative power of the arts with a campus that is deeply rooted in nature. This synergy of culture and the environment is directly aligned to how we approach our work. Usdan’s vision is powerful, honest and authentic to the arts. This creates a unique opportunity for visitors to focus on the arts experience in a safe, open and accessible environment within the wooded arts campus. Usdan plays a formative role in many student's lives, and Trahan Architects is very grateful to contribute to their journey.”