A New Vision for Point Cadet
The Tulane Regional Urban Design Center and 16 architecture students have been working with the City of Biloxi throughout this semester to create a new vision for Point Cadet, a public waterfront park in East Biloxi, Miss. The Point serves as a highly visible gateway to the city and is the last waterfront green space open to the public there.
A member of the Biloxi, Miss., community reviews proposed plans for Point Cadet. “Point Cadet has the ability to stand as a beacon that celebrates both the history and the renewal of the area,” says Zach Kauffmann, a third-year architecture student. (Photo provided by the City of Biloxi)
Students are responsible for siting the new Seafood Industry Museum, along with a marina expansion, small retail locations, covered open spaces for festivals and farmers markets, a children's park, open green space and other public amenities.
The student group, part of adjunct associate professor Grover Mouton's “Design Urbanism” seminar, recently presented their designs at a public meeting, where citizens were encouraged to describe what they would like to see at the Point.
The group has worked closely with Biloxi mayor A.J. Holloway and other city officials, and will tailor their proposals to incorporate what they have learned from the public and the administration.
“I believe it is extremely important for the students to engage with communities in the implementation of real-world, budgeted projects,” Mouton says. “This kind of interaction allows for designs that are sensitive to the neighborhood context and needs of the citizenry. Working closely with the city administration also serves as an educational tool, exposing the students to the politics and varied interest groups behind any given design project.”
A consolidated plan drawing from the students' individual work will be created by semester's end. Construction is slated to begin as early as this year.
“It was invigorating to see the citizens' passion for public space,” says John Nelson, a third-year architecture student. “Their stories of the past will help inform our decisions as planners in the future.”
An outreach program of the Tulane University School of Architecture, TRUDC provides design services to communities throughout the Gulf South.
