John Desmond - Excellence in Architecture

Excellence in Architecture

Allen Eskew, a New Orleans architect who was influenced by Desmond's style, told the reporter Jeremy Harper of the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate that Desmond was "really one of the giants of midcentury modern Louisiana architecture." He could incorporate early Acadian design elements into modern structures. His pen-and-ink drawings have been exhibited across the nation and published internationally. He received a "Lifetime Achievement Award from the Louisiana chapter of the AIA. Desmond's firm held offices in Hammond and Baton Rouge until the 1970s, when he worked exclusively out of Baton Rouge. He also taught architecture at Tulane, LSU, and historically black Southern University in Baton Rouge. His drawings and photographs have been featured in numerous national and international magazines and have been exhibited in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and New York City. His work is featured in his book, Louisiana’s Antebellum Architecture, published in 1970 by Claitor's in Baton Rouge.

In 1986, the Foundation for Historical Louisiana awarded Desmond its most prestigious honor, the Preservation Award, which he received for focusing upon awareness of the past through his work as a preservationist and for his historically-influenced modern designs. Desmond was described as both "talented and generous-spirited." Eskew, one of the designers of the award-winning Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge, noted how Desmond was able to weave a "large building masterfully in a canopy of existing mature oaks" in the establishment of the LSU Student Union.

Desmond was a fellow in the A.I.A. for "Significant Contribution to Design". He was "Outstanding Alumnus" of the Tulane School of Architecture. He was cited for "Excellence in the Arts" by the Arts Council of the Mayor-President, combined Baton Rouge municipal and East Baton Rouge Parish office. His professional papers and drawings (1954–2003) are held in the archives at LSU’s Hill Memorial Library.