UNESCO Studio - New Orleans

I participated in the 15th edition of the UNESCO Studio, a project of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape of the Université de Montréal, organized in collaboration with Tulane University and Louisiana State University. The studio explored New Orleans’ relationship with water and the Mississippi River, focusing on cultural, ecological, and social dynamics.

My group worked on Algiers Point, conducting site visits, sensory data collection, and community-based analysis to understand the historic riverfront and its challenges. Our project examined the tensions between water management infrastructure, cultural heritage, and neighborhood life, proposing strategies to foster more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable connections between residents and the river.

Catherine Restrepo

Meet Catherine, the former architect who traded blueprints for scuba suits and found a love for exploring ocean depths. Armed with a Nitrox specialty certification she tinkers mad-scientist style to concoct safer gas mixtures for sassier dives below. Currently honing her preservation skills by the river, this captain-in-training dreams of becoming a marine archaeologist out on the high seas. Drawn to water ever since she can remember, Catherine is perfectly proof that you can ditch a landlubber career to survey underwater artifacts and still keep your head above water. Whether cheerfully cursing floods in New Orleans or mapping lost treasures, this future underwater adventurist shows you can be anything your heart and diving compass point to next. The depths are calling and this seafaring conservator intends to dive right in!

New Orleans, LA, USAinfo@madameguignol.com
Summer in New Orleans, 19th-century style.
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