Program Directors

Byron is an established architect, educator, New Orleans native, and alumnus of Tulane University. He has traveled a path from New Orleans through Harvard’s Graduate School of Design to professional practice in central Europe, and eventually back at home.

He now finds himself committed to building his locally-based practice bildDESIGN, in conjunction with his academic role as senior professor of practice at Tulane’s School of Architecture and director of the school’s design/build program UrbanBuild. From 2011-2014 he served as one of the founding endowed social entrepreneurship professors in the universtity-wide program in Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (SISE).

With more than 30 years of experience in the fields of architecture and construction, Byron is committed to critical assignments that exemplify a collaborative planning approach and a dedication to the regional remediation of New Orleans. As a local, Byron understands the impact of pre-Katrina problems on a post-Katrina world and the challenges set forth. The comprehensive nature of such tasks fuels his investigations in pursuit of progressive contextual infill possibilities that encourage and advance the revitalization of New Orleans’ urban fabric.

Sara Allen is a designer, artist, and educator originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. while a student at the University of Virginia, Sara Allen was part of a design/build research team exploring temporary disaster recovery housing both domestically – the Gulf Coast post-hurricanes Katrina and Rita – and internationally – Haiti post-2010 earthquake.

Housing equity has been a driving force in her work and education since, which eventually brought her to New Orleans for her M.Arch at Tulane University. A student-builder of the Small Center Ozanam Inn day space and the UrbanBuild 12 home, and co-teacher of the UrabnBuild 14 home, she is an advocate for the design/build curriculum and women in the building arts.

Tony Christiana is a native New Orleanian who spent his early years not far from the vicinity of many of the URBANbuild sites. A child of the first generation of white flight in New Orleans, his family later moved to Jefferson Parish. Tony started training as a traditional carpenter with his Uncle John at age seventeen, while still a student at East Jefferson High School. For thirty years, he worked as a skilled carpenter and craftsman; in the last fifteen years, he has taken on the role of mentor, and he is now a licensed contractor. Tony has completed nearly 100 substantial house projects in his lifetime, ranging in scale from small residential renovations to large private homes. He possesses an incredible, deep knowledge of residential construction and equally outstanding interpersonal skills. Tony and Program Director Byron Mouton grew up together; in 1998, they renovated a triplex together, and the two have been working together ever since. Since the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Tony has taken great pride in helping to revitalize some of the city’s hardest-hit neighborhoods by sharing his knowledge, experience, and many great stories with each class of URBANbuild students.