B. Arch, Tulane University
B.A. Music, Loyola University
Founded studioWTA in 1992

Wayne Troyer was a designer who embraced architecture as an active process of communication within a framework of collaboration and exploration. As the founder of Wayne Troyer Architects in 1992 (which evolved to studioWTA in 2012), he was recognized for creative problem solving, craft of construction, and innovative design solutions. 

Prior to receiving his professional degree from Tulane University, Wayne studied music at Loyola University where he received a Bachelor of Music degree in performance. This contributed to an interest in the role arts and abstract thinking play in developing a body of work that reached beyond stylistic issues to address larger conceptual and social considerations that are linked by emotion and experience.

Engaging in the process of rebuilding New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina was an ongoing passion for Wayne. This passion manifested itself through his work with a variety of initiatives including the Bring New Orleans Back Commission, the Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP), the Fr. Harry Thompson Center, and Operation Comeback. He served for more than fifteen years on the citywide Architectural Review Committee and was a commissioner for the Central Business District for the Historic Districts Landmarks Commission, which works to preserve the historic fabric and culture of the city’s architectural heritage. In 2016, he was elected to the AIA’s College of Fellows and was inducted into that group in a ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

Wayne regularly participated as a critic for student projects and taught architectural design and environmental technology at the University of Arkansas, architectural and interior design platforms at Louisiana State University, architectural design at Tulane University School of Architecture, and a class in Cultural Spaces for Tulane University’s Paris Program.

When not engaged in design work, Wayne enjoyed gardening, listening to music from his collection of nearly 5,000 vinyl and compact disc albums, exploring various venues of contemporary art, and playing with his grandson.

Wayne passed away after a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer on May 3rd, 2019.

You can read the press release here, and view the slideshow from Wayne’s Celebration of Life here.

Photo by Zack Smith Photography