Mayne to assist New Orleans

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne will become a major player in the revitalization of downtown New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, city officials announced Tuesday.

Mayne and his Santa Monica firm, Morphosis, are providing the plans for the renovation and expansion of the Katrina-damaged Hyatt Regency New Orleans, adjacent to the Louisiana Superdome, and for a 20-acre performing arts park to be anchored by a new National Jazz Center to be designed by Mayne.

The master plan calls for an outdoor auditorium and new city government and court buildings. Several existing buildings will be also be razed to provide space for an open-air Jazz Park that will extend for six city blocks. Costs for the Jazz Park and the National Jazz Center, which will house the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, are estimated at $716 million.