John Stubbs, an accomplished advocate for preserving and promoting Louisiana’s architectural heritage for more than five decades, has been selected by the Louisiana Architecture Foundation for its Patron of Architecture award. Stubbs, of Monroe and formerly of New Orleans, received the award at the AIA Louisiana 2026 Conference on Architecture awards presentation on October 2 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The award is given in recognition of an individual who has shown significant leadership in promoting the merits and quality of architecture in Louisiana.

As a young LSU faculty member, Stubbs produced the original three-volume inventory, history and preservation plan for Laurel Valley Plantation, the most intact surviving sugar complex in the South.

Stubbs led the World Monuments Fund, directing restoration projects around the globe, for 20 years, then came back to Louisiana as Director of the Master of Preservation Studies program for Tulane University in 2011. In that role, he helped save historic buildings including the 1855 Carrollton Courthouse, and created the New Orleans Preservation timeline, an interactive database that documents the city’s preservation history. He also did field studies on French Quarter building restorations.

He has guided restorations of historic homes and buildings across the state; and as a preservation advocate, he has waged campaigns to save the World Trade Center, Four Seasons Hotel, the Phillis Wheatley School, all in New Orleans, and Poverty Point, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He has written four landmark preservation books and done countless lectures across the globe on Louisiana’s built heritage.

He has also volunteered to advance numerous preservation projects and has led international delegations on tours of New Orleans to try to spark investment from international groups in the city’s historic sites. He has served on the board of the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation and continues to teach about the necessity of historic preservation. 

Louisiana Public Broadcasting recently televised the LAF’s first film, Unexpected Modernism: The Wiener Brothers’ Story. The screening event was held during LPB’s summer membership pledge drive. The LAF was proudly represented by organization co-founder and board member Marvin “Buddy” Ragland, AIA. Buddy is also a partner with Coleman Partners Architects in Baton Rouge. During breaks in the statewide screening of the film, Buddy, who also teaches architecture at the LSU School of Design, offered fascinating insight on the impact of the Wiener brothers’ modernist style on Louisiana architecture, especially in the northern part of the state.

The LAF is excited to share an article about our film, Ancestral Artistry, featured in the summer edition of 64 Parishes magazine. The magazine is published by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Ancestral Artistry recently won the LEH’s Humanitarian Film Documentary of the Year award. Read the article here!