As If

You N

eed

Anoth

er

Reas

on

14

To Go

To New

ORleANs

1514

Color is important in New Orleans. In many c it ies, a wa lk

through the average neighborhood gives you white, white, white, off-white, and, hey look…it’s an ’80s mauve! That same average New Orleans neighborhood greets you with yellow, blue, red, orange and green, often on the same block. You fit in, sometimes, by not fitting in.

There’s a sense of history here as well. Initially when the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the nation’s sixth largest, was built in 1981, it showed off a color scheme of light beige, brick red and dark green to blend into a warehouse district with closer ties to 1891 than 1981. Things changed quickly. With the convention center came development: restaurants, art galleries, hotels, plus more residential and commercial construction.

If there’s one constant in that city other than jazz, it’s the river, and as the neighborhood around it changed, the center wanted to jump from the 19th century into the 21st. Part of its more than $80-million worth of renovations since 2006 include repaint-ing the red brick color of the outside to Convention Center Blue, a color custom developed by Richard’s Industrial Coat-ings, Rockledge, FL.

The center’s president and general manager, Bob Johnson, credits the river for the design tip. “The new shade of deep blue appropriately reflects our relationship with one of the most famous bodies of water in the world, the Mississippi River,” he says.

When the Saints Go Up on a ScaffoldThe change from red to blue took a lot of high-up

work, and four painters were put on the task of painting a 279,000-square-foot brick red stripe.

The job began in December, recalls the center’s Envi-ronmental Services Manager Adrian Faciane. “It took

a little longer than it might have usually,” he said, “because we went through the winter months into

spring.”Also, all the paint had to

be brushed and rolled. “It wasn’t feasible to spray it

due to overspray everywhere,” he says. Often the painters were on lifts as much as 120 feet high, and in a crowded part of the city, trees, cars and passersby would run the risk of also being painted Convention Center Blue.

“The selection of an acrylic aliphatic polyurethane is what helped make the

Bob Johnson

Adrian Faciane

To Go

To New

ORleANs

By Jerry raBushka, e

ditor

16

job easier,” reports Faciane. “We’ve used it before on dif-ferent areas of the building and have always gotten real good performance out of it. It has good color and gloss retention and good adhesion, and that’s why we chose that particular product.”

Sure there was a bit of splatter, says Faciane, but the painters were good about cleaning up after themselves.

Another big part of the job was patience, adds crew chief L.S. Newsome, but it was worth the wait. “It took a little time, because of the lifts we had to use to get to certain areas, but it came out to be a beautiful job,” he says.

Safety was also a major player, says Faciane. “No one put a rush on the job because safety is the key to success with everything. That was first and foremost.”

As was doing the job profes-sionally—in a place l ike this, the world, l i t e ra l ly, i s watching. The painters, just like everyone else at the cen-ter, represent the image of the center, and dressed accord-ingly. “For one th ing,” says

Adrian, “the first impression is everlasting. I was brought up with the belief that you should dress for success, and we try to hold our people accountable for that. When you’re dealing with a variety of people from all over the country that come to the facility, it’s important. A professional appearance speaks for itself.”

What’s In is Now OutOf course, a decision to repaint in such a big place isn’t

taken lightly or done unilaterally. Johnson notes that the staff of the center reached a consensus that the old colors were more representative of a different era in the center’s development, and it was time to update.

The choice of exterior color was in many ways dictated by what was already on the inside—a good design lesson for painters who are incor-porating more color savvy into their mix. In other words, the color of the rug (88,000 square ya rd s), t he meeting room chairs (26,000 of them), and the thinking behind all of it influenced the

Before (left) and after (right), the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans was repainted to reflect the city's tie with the Mississippi River and to better blend in with the changing neighborhood. Below: Congratulations for a job well

done to the four painters: Milton Doyle, Michael Thiel, Bryan Myers and Anthony Edgerson.

All photos courtesy Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

16 17

color of the paint chosen a couple years later.“Quite a bit of thought went into the design of the

interior colors, including the carpet. A fresh new palette was created to embody the area’s cultural and natural landscape. The custom-designed carpet reflects the area’s greatest natural resources—the Mis-sissippi River and its surrounding wetlands. The new interior palette dictated what the exterior color would be, to be consistent. The exterior is the first thing you see when you approach the building, so it should complement what you are going to see on the inside,” he says.

The updated color also sends a message that it’s a forward looking facility. “It’s remarkable how many positive comments we’ve received from our industry partners about what a big difference a simple color change makes. Everyone has said the building looks fantastic and better than ever.”

In a historic district such at this… well in almost any neigh-borhood, when one person paints, another follows. Listen to Johnson and you get some selling points for painting a whole block.

“It is our belief that whenever these types of improvements are made on such a large facility, it encourages neighboring businesses to follow suit, especially in a his-toric/arts district, where exterior presentation is very important. This extends to the improvements that we’ve made to our landscaping, exterior lighting, etc. Any improve-ments we make to our exterior improve the aesthetics of the entire neighborhood.”

While there are many outstand-ing painters in New Orleans, Faciane noted that the Center is contracted to hire union painters. “We send a request to the painters local union along with the quali-fications we need, such as their ability to mix and apply various types of coatings and the ability to

use the lifts and different equipment required to do the work on a facility this size.”

Kudos also to the convention center for posting photos of the painters on their yahoo photo page, giving credit for a job well done to the guys who actually did it. tpC

TM

PROFESSIONAL QUALITY PAINTING SUPPLIESPROFESSIONAL QUALITY PAINTING SUPPLIES

WHIZZGREEN Applicators help protect theenvironment without sacrificing performance.WHIZZGREEN brushes are constructed with100% renewable wood stocks (bamboo), and at least 5% recycled filament and steel.WHIZZGREEN rollers are made with postconsumer recycled fibers recovered primarilyfrom water bottles. Environmental solutions,professional quality results...WHIZZGREEN

Work Tools International, Inc.Largo, Florida

www.whizzrollers.com800-767-7038 • Fax:727-538-4748

PD_half_Island_26010 2/3/09 10:06 AM Page 1