Architecture Program Says Farewell to Professor Mirzai at Retirement

December 13, 2018

The Delgado Architecture Student Organization (DASO) honored retiring Professor P. Victor Mirzai with a special event at Delgado Sidney Collier on Nov. 28.

They were joined by alumni of the Architectural/Design Construction Technology program and by industry partners for a reception and presentation focusing on Mirzai’s career and on the achievements of his students, present and past.

A highlight of the event was the unveiling of the final service-learning project of the current class of Delgado architecture students: a scale model of historic Isaac Delgado Hall, the 1921-era structure at 615 City Park Ave. in New Orleans that is the heart of Delgado Community College. Tying the past and present together is the fact that the model was constructed using the resources of the Delgado Fab Lab, a cutting-edge fabrication laboratory located at the college’s City Park Campus.

Isaac Delgado Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, based on the results of a historic building documentation project completed by Delgado architecture students working under Mirzai’s direction. The project is archived at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The Architectural/Design Construction Technology program at Delgado trains students in design and construction of commercial, industrial and public buildings, homes, schools and community projects. Students also learn about the maintenance, repair, modification, renovation, restoration and modernization of existing buildings.

The program’s student organization, DASO, has a student board of directors, clearly stated bylaws and bi-monthly meetings. Throughout the year, the organization hosts guest speakers, connects with alumni and participates in a Student Mentoring Day with the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans and other professionals within the community. 

“Delgado’s DASO alumni are professionals who have carried the banner and provided strong leadership for this award-winning, business and industry based student organization,” said Mirzai.

DASO’s many affiliations include: American Institute of Architects (AIA) New Orleans; American Institute for Building Design (AIBD); Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) Gulf Coast; Home Builders Association (HBA) of Greater New Orleans; International Code Council; National Association of Home Builders (NAHB); Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS); National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) New Orleans; New Orleans Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI); New Orleans Home & Garden Show; Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans; and the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors.

Delgado Architectural/Design Construction Technology students have competed against other students from four-year universities as well as community and technical colleges around the nation, winning national awards for excellence in hands-on competitions held in New Orleans, Las Vegas and other locations.

They received the NAHB Outstanding Student Chapter Award for numerous years including 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. In 2013, Bryan P. Hughes, a Delgado architectural student, received the NAHB Outstanding Student Award.

Delgado’s may be the only two-year architecture program in Louisiana. “In the city of New Orleans, rich with architecture, it’s appropriate that Delgado offers this program,” Mirzai said.

In addition to learning architectural design, students are required to master computer-aided design and drafting (CADD), and they take technology classes such as computer information technology and civil and construction applied engineering technology--all taught by faculty in the Delgado Business and Technology Division.

Mirzai earned a Master of Architecture degree at Tulane University, specializing in medical architecture. After post-graduate work at the Tulane University School of Public Health, he became the resident architect for Louisiana State University at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. He also worked for the Curtis and Davis firm, and with August Perez and Associates. His projects included the Piazza d’Italia and the 1984 World Exposition (World’s Fair).

Mirzai first came to Delgado in 1982 as a substitute instructor, then joined the full-time faculty in 1983. “We rolled our sleeves up to make this program as successful as possible and gain national accreditation,” he said. The Association of Technology, Management and Applied Engineering awarded national accreditation in 2003 and it has been renewed through 2020.

In 2007, Mirzai and a colleague, Sterling Brignac, were the first Americans invited by Britain’s Prince Charles to participate in a craft apprenticeship program sponsored by The Prince’s Foundation. Recognizing the urgent post-Katrina need for skilled craftspeople to regenerate New Orleans, preserve the unique architecture of the region and build jobs while rebuilding historic communities, the Delgado faculty and The Prince’s Foundation established a curriculum that gave 21 apprentices from New Orleans a chance to study with leading artisans from around the globe before a practicum in London. During the years since then, they have used their knowledge in a variety of projects in New Orleans.

Mirzai said that during his 36 years teaching architecture at Delgado, the program has graduated at least 10 students per year—not including students transferring to universities including LSU, Tulane, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana Tech, Southern University, University of New Orleans, and University of Houston, to study architecture, engineering or construction management.

About 80 percent of graduating students in his program go directly to the workforce from Delgado. About twenty percent transfer to universities, Mirzai said.

He hopes the program will continue to thrive after his departure, noting that instruction in architectural design and construction technology dates back to the college’s earliest days nearly a hundred years ago. Famed architect August Perez Jr., who founded the renowned Perez firm, graduated from Delgado. 

Mirzai is married to Ceci, a kindergarten teacher, and they have two sons: Arman, 21, a businessman, and Shawyan, 17, a senior at Jesuit High School in New Orleans.

Asked about his plans for retirement, he laughed, saying, ‘My graduates asked me to start a business so they can work for me. I’m not jumping into anything right away, but when the leisure time ends I might teach part-time or go into business, perhaps write a book.”

At the retirement event last month, celebrated by current and former students as well as by faculty and staff colleagues and industry partners, Mirzai was honored by a proclamation from the national office of NAHB and a certificate of appreciation from New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

“I’ve really enjoyed my years at Delgado and never considered leaving for another college or university or business,” he said.

He believes the college will stay with him after he is retired: “There’s not a day that I don’t run into someone from Delgado around town.”

 

 

 

 

Photos by Todd Taylor, Delgado Public Relations and Marketing

Delgado Community College will celebrate 100 years of service to the New Orleans region in 2021. The oldest and largest community college in Louisiana, Delgado provides instruction online and at seven locations. Fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Delgado offers students the most comprehensive array of education and training services available in the 10-parish New Orleans region. Additionally, Delgado has agreements with most of the state’s four-year colleges and universities that allow students to smoothly transfer their Delgado credits to bachelor’s degree programs. As well as offering degrees and transferable college credits, Delgado provides diplomas and certificates in many professional and technical areas. Workforce development is a priority at Delgado, hence the college’s motto: “Education that works!” www.dcc.edu