An architect’s rendering of a hotel proposed for the 600 block of Elysian Fields Avenue. (Courtesy New Orleans HDLC)
The New Orleans City Council has given the green light to a hotel design that the Historic District Landmarks Commission described as an “over-scaled and poorly articulated behemoth,” at 621 Elysian Fields Ave. in the Faubourg Marigny Historic District.
During the Jan. 8 council meeting, HDLC staff observed that the “illogically composed façade and banal use of materials demonstrate[d] a lack of comprehension of the rhythm, scale, and harmony inherent in the surrounding architectural context.”
District C Councilman Freddie King, who refrained from commenting about the project before the vote, introduced the motion to approve the plans and override the HDLC’s mandate that the developers to go back to the Architectural Review Committee to try and come up with plans that meet the design guidelines for historic districts…