Who We Are

A native of Birmingham, Alabama and a graduate of Auburn University’s architecture program, Louis has always been fascinated with the creation of place. At an early age, he found art as a conduit for his expression and identity which lead him to architecture as a field of study.

After graduating from Auburn, Louis combined his early work experience and his volunteer firefighting background to land an opportunity to start a new firm and design two fire stations in the Birmingham area. One was the first commercial building in a new town called Mt. Laurel where he was introduced to New Urbanism and started learning the principles of traditional neighborhood development. Even though much of his earlier work was highlighted by custom residential projects, this enlightenment of community planning has been a foundation in Louis’ work ever since.

“It’s all about community building. Architecture is nothing but an opportunity to bring people together. It can segregate or create community. I don’t think people realize how much community planning has an effect on political life.”

Louis has always been as interested in the business relationships with developers and the clients – the people – just as much as the beautiful work. These two types of work, custom-driven and developer-driven, can form a dialogue with each other, where a cross-pollination of ideas from one can inform the other.

Louis focuses his collaborative energies to innovate new solutions for community building in the 21st century. Whether it be student housing villages, multi-family buildings in new town centers, infill mixed-use buildings in downtown, or market-rate residential neighborhoods, all of these building types help shape our public realm and create community. For Louis Nequette, the real strength of architecture is not necessarily the buildings, but it is the space between the buildings, the community nurtured by planning and beauty.