Our firm is motivated by a belief that architecture has the ability to positively transform, empower and restore communities at all scales.
Our culture is sustained by a team of volunteers, mentors, board members, researchers, educators, and artists who are actively engaged in the greater development of the world around us.
Growing up in a social New Orleans family, Raymond found ease communicating with a variety of personalities at an early age. During his tenure at the LSU School of Architecture, he excelled at team-oriented group projects and still finds enjoyment in checking the status of his alma mater studio’s synergy. At TPA, Raymond spearheads the internal IDP mentorship group which provides team member’s the opportunity to freely shares and utilize our internal wealth of knowledge and collective experience. Raymond’s desire to cultivate other’s skills extends outside of office hours when he can be found teaching salsa dance classes.
Born in the Upper South and raised on Lake Pontchartrain’s North Shore, Brady Barclay grew up steeped in creativity, surrounded in his family by architects, potters, and artists. During his Bachelor’s degree in architecture (LSU ’17) he worked at a variety of firms and spent one year at Virginia Tech’s Washington Alexandria Architecture Center in Washington, D.C. Brady used his broadly varied academic and professional experience to hone his own design process across projects that include office buildings, hospitality projects, educational design, and single- and multi-family residential work. He enjoys traveling to visit friends throughout the United States, but always returns to the Gulf, where you can find him sailing in regattas across the Gulf South or simply for pleasure on the Lake.
Kevin Barns is a skilled, ambitious project manager originally from Mobile, Alabama with a degree from Auburn University. He has worked on a diverse array of projects and has experience with educational projects, corporate office spaces, and multi-family residential developments. He is adept at broad-strokes conceptual design and has the tenacity and patience to shepherd schematic ideas through detailing while protecting the design intent. Kevin is the Building Information Modeling Office Manager, his expertise in Revit helps the firm to facilitate coordination and increase efficiency through the use of these technologies. Outside of work, Kevin unwinds with the occasional round of golf or disc golf.
Originally from Texas, Hannah is a designer with an interest in creating environments that focus on the human experience and sustainable design practices. Her first design love was interior design, as she received her Bachelor of Science in Interior Design from UT Austin before pursuing a Master of Architecture at Tulane University. After graduate school, she worked as a researcher studying the multi-sensory experience of architecture with an emphasis on acoustics and auditory perception in the built environment. Her professional experience in residential architecture, both in the southern US and in South America, have given her an appreciation for thoughtful design that considers local culture and landscape, both of which play an important role in her design work in New Orleans.
In her spare time, Hannah can be found making furniture in her makeshift woodshop or volunteering at a local, English as a Second Language (ESL) school.
Belle Chasse native, Jennifer Blair, has a background in illustration and graphic design as well as business administration. These skills enable her keen ability to understand and facilitate both the design and business facets of the firm’s work. With over 15 years of administrative and marketing experience, she finds particular enjoyment in the human resources side of office management, streamlining communication, and developing personal relationships with our staff.
After receiving a master’s degree from the Pratt Institute in NYC, Matthew quickly gained a wide variety of experiences through managing small, dynamic design teams in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment. He earned his reputation as thoughtful, hardworking designer by shepherding many diverse project types from initial concept development to construction completion.
Above all, Matthew cherishes the collaborative nature of architecture and has asserted his commitment to help everyone on his team thrive – from designers and consultants to clients and general contractors. He believes each project is at its best when everyone on the team is flourishing.
When Matthew is not at work you can find him at a pottery studio throwing down some clay, at home perfecting his cooking skills, or in a local coffee shop catching up on current literature.
Originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania, Regina’s interest in architecture was sparked early during her childhood surrounded by shop drawings from her dad’s work as a mechanical engineer. She earned her Bachelor of Science in architecture from the University of Virginia where she balanced studio life with varsity cheering for the university’s football and basketball team. Post-graduation, she cut her teeth in the industry at VMDO, a top national educational design firm and TPA joint-venture partner, where she gained an appreciation for how a built environment can create inspirational and unconventional learning spaces. In 2015, she headed south to earn her Master of Architecture from Tulane University. There she participated in the URBANbuild program and piqued her interest in the translation of digital design to constructed detail. After hours, she enjoys running the variety of routes New Orleans has to offer.
Born in the Northeast, with the majority of his life spent in Louisiana, Daniel Ferg earned his Master of Architecture from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. During his degree work he participated in the Building Institute and Design + Build program, through which he learned to value a team through the design and construction of a 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom residence. He believes that architecture should protect and preserve the social environment through the connection of work and play, an idea reflected in his designs for commercial, residential, educational, and religious projects. Off the clock, you can find him enjoying one of the many festivals between New Orleans and Lafayette or dabbling in the latest life-enhancing technology.
Gene Guidry is a Louisiana native with expansive experience and a deep rooted commitment to the State. He completed his professional degree at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2004 and has practiced across the Gulf South. His broad-ranging projects in planning, institutional and public buildings, private development, and single family residences has helped him become one of the first associates at TPA. Additionally, he is an active member and Membership Chair for the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Away from the desk, Gene is a voracious reader as well as a skilled and sensitive draughtsman with a body of intricate, ambitious freehand drawings.
A native New Orleanian, Andrea is drawn to how architecture can shape and influence human connections. During her tenure at Louisiana State University School of Architecture and supplemental program at the Virginia Tech Washington Alexandria Architecture Center in DC, she gained an appreciation for urban design and creation with a focus on accessibility and sustainability. She has experience designing public buildings, multi-family projects, and custom residential where she thrives on diving into details. Andrea is a constant observer and lover of people watching. In her spare time, she dabbles in clothing design hoping to one day create her own line.
Trent holds a Masters of Architecture from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and he brings an honest, direct sensibility to the firm. During his graduate study he designed a home for Habitat for Humanity, for which he later worked as a designer and construction lead. His tenure there honed his understanding of and appreciation for simple, functional design and detailing. These interests are not exclusive to his workweek – away from his desk he hunts for antique furniture, designs and constructs his own pieces, and restores cars.
Blake Kidder grew up in the Acadiana region of Louisiana and moved to New Orleans after earning a Masters of Architecture from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Acadiana left a lasting influence on his sensibility and design aesthetic and his work is characterized equally by respect for the past and anticipation of future change. In the office Blake works to renovate and strengthen the idiosyncratic urban landscape of New Orleans. Additionally, his design work and photography have been included in publications and gallery exhibitions throughout the United States.
With nearly two decades at the firm, Ashley King brings her energy and tenacity to numerous projects. Her interest in historic preservation, which she traces from her childhood in Charleston through her Master’s degree work at Tulane University, gives her a keen eye for detail. She applies that attention and rigor as much to historic renovation as she does to rooting new construction projects within their context. When she’s not busy following emerging building products and construction trends, she’s usually relaxing outdoors, running, practicing golf, or playing with her dog Dude.
After growing up between southern California and central Louisiana, Paula Peer received her degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She began her career in Los Angeles and in the following years built experience with single- and multi-family residential and mixed-use developments in New Orleans and with RTKL in Dallas. Since joining the firm in 2001, Paula has applied her experience with complex projects to allow the firm to successfully complete work of significant scale. She provides excellent internal leadership by identifying firm needs and implementing plans to address them, mentoring young designers, and contributing significantly to the strength of the team as well as the success of the firm. In recognition of her immense contributions, she was made a principal in 2009. Beyond the firm she is an engaged member of the professional community, having served on the board of the New Orleans Chapter of the American Institute of Architect (AIA) since 2011 and as acting chapter president in 2015. She is also a founding member of Women In Architecture (WIA) and the New Orleans Architecture Foundation (NOAF).
Paula also actively applies her skills to benefit the broader community. After Hurricane Katrina, she worked with neighborhood groups to propose zoning changes and to set design guidelines for redevelopment of the Lake Area neighborhoods. In her role as a Gretna Historic District Committee member, Paula spearheaded the development of a Historic Districts Design Guidelines Book. Paula’s other volunteer efforts include work in the lower Ninth Ward with Our School at Blair Grocery. She cares passionately about delivering careful design solutions that satisfy client needs and promote the well-being of occupants while contributing equal energy to spending every spare moment with her two children.
Originally from the Northeast, Margitta made New Orleans her permanent home with her 2007 relocation. She earned dual undergraduate degrees in art and physics from Stony Brook University in New York and seized the opportunity to merge her two very separate passions in a Master of Architecture at Tulane University. She started her career with work on large-scale federal projects and advanced by working on mixed-use, multi-family, and commercial projects varying in scale. At TPA, she applies her architectural expertise, LEED AP certification, and commitment to sustainability on the firm’s cutting-edge historic renovations. In her spare time, she enjoys renovating and restoring her historic Central City home and exploring the city with her husband, daughter, and her adopted black Spaniel puppy.
Native to the Pontchartrain Basin, Julia grew up in Chalmette and Covington. Her experiences at a young age in the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina left her keenly aware of the South Louisiana landscape and its environmental challenges and opportunities, which she explored in depth during her B.Arch degree at LSU School of Architecture (’19.) Her degree work in Architecture and Architectural History led her to study abroad in Rome, where she was able to travel widely, exploring cultures and spaces of people around the world. No matter the scale, she believes in design’s potential to enhance the wellbeing and connection of clients, users, context, and environment. Outside the office you can find her running walking and biking to all the local markets and shops New Orleans has to offer.
Avid champion of the American South, Sarah Simonson, holds a degree in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi. She carried this focus into her architectural thesis work for her Masters of Architecture at Tulane University through investigating the influence of social culture on the built environment. Later, she led a year-long research project on the impact of post-Katrina demolition in New Orleans public housing. Sarah’s social focus gives her an affinity for institutional work. In her career, she has been a key team member of two large, complex public education projects. Away from her desk, Sarah strengthens the professional community through her involvement in the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Women in Architecture (WIA).
Shea Trahan holds degrees in architecture from both the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Tulane University. His graduate research combined interests in sensory neuroscience, architectural acoustics, and algorithmic design. Shea’s architectural process focuses heavily on the experiential interaction between architecture and the senses, most notably hearing. His work has been featured at the New Orleans Museum of Art, UL Lafayette’s Art/Tech Fusion Conference, TEDx Vermilion Street, and at the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture. As a project manager, Shea focuses on cultural and theater projects as well as adaptive reuse of historic buildings. In addition to architecture, Shea has a lifelong passion for both analogue and digital photography.
A native New Orleanian, Peter Trapolin, FAIA is the founding principal of Trapolin-Peer Architects and has dedicated nearly four decades of professional experience to the city he calls home. An alumnus of De La Salle High School, he attended Tulane’s School of Architecture where he received the Moise Goldstein Award honoring his historic preservation work as well as the AIA Scholastic Award for Excellence in the study of architecture.
In 1981 he founded Peter M. Trapolin & Associates, which in 2009 became Trapolin-Peer Architects, and celebrated its 35th anniversary in August 2016. His premiere renovation project at 600 Julia Street, one of the “Thirteen Sisters” of Julia Row designed by Alexander Thompson Wood in the 1830s, still stands as a downtown landmark. This project’s success, in conjunction with Peter’s various other projects in the area, triggered the revitalization of and renewed investment in the entire Central Business and Warehouse District neighborhoods. While the firm has worked across the Gulf South, Peter’s dedication to historic preservation and detailing has saved many local historic buildings and helped repair the urban fabric in and around New Orleans’ historic districts. Decades later, Peter and the firm continue to be renowned both for innovative and contextual new buildings as well as environmentally sensitive yet appropriate renovations and restorations.
In 2017 Peter was recognized with AIA’s prestigious fellowship designation for his exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society as a whole. In his free time Mr. Trapolin is an enthusiastic boater and fisherman, navigating the Gulf from a piece of property in Mississippi that has been in his family for more than 75 years. When he’s not on the boat he can be found reading, listening to his extensive music collection, or enjoying a movie at a local theater.
Associate Gabriel Virdure methodically tackles challenges and has experience with many facets of design and project management. She is familiar with a broad range of project scales and types, with direct experience in single- and multi-family residential work, hospitality projects, and public and private institutional buildings. Gabriel thrives on collaboration, finding reward in engaging clients and contractors as true partners in the design process. She also forges professional relationships that extend beyond the workplace; Gabriel is a founding member of Women in Architecture (WIA) New Orleans and an active member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), and NCARB. She enjoys sending spare time with her family and appreciates the outdoor through gardening and playing tennis.
Originally from Milwaukee, Alan obtained his Master’s Degree from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 2012. After his initial 2010 introduction to New Orleans during a graduate school studio, Alan visited frequently before making it his permanent residence in 2016. With experience in educational, multi-family, and hospitality design, he strongly believes that architecture acts as a means of social production that is informed by the creativity of those it serves. Alan fills his spare time wrangling cats and creating custom feline furniture.
