UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AT LAFAYETTE . SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

Building Institute

The Building Institute is UL Lafayette’s integrated project delivery, design-build program. The program brings architecture students, architects, engineers and contractors together in the design and construction of single-family, market-rate homes. The homes are built on infill property in the urban core neighborhoods of Lafayette, Louisiana and then publically sold at a market-rate. Students work hand-in-hand with local contractors to build the homes which achieve sustainability standards such as the National Homebuilder’s Green Building Standard or LEED. The Building Institute is structured through a graduate design studio in the fall, a construction documents course in the spring and the construction course in the summer. Students receive academic credit for each course and in addition, several team leaders receive paid summer internships allowing them to accrue IDP credit. The Building Institute is not a simulation- it is hyper-reality. As architect-developers, the students become agents of change.

PROJECT CATEGORY : Featured / Homes / Large Projects

Videos:

Team BeauSoleil Roof Install Time Lapse

Watch as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s TEAM BeauSoleil installs the roof of the BeauSoleil Louisiana Solar Home on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Team BeauSoleil in competing in the 2009 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

TEAM BeauSoleil Builds on the National Mall

Watch as TEAM BeauSoleil builds it’s post-Katrina self-sufficient home on the National Mall during the 2009 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

TEAM BeauSoleil Heads to DC

Designed to be completely self-sufficient, the BeauSoleil Home will generate more energy than it consumes, collect its own water using a cistern, and capture natural breezes and sunshine to reduce the amount of energy it consumes.

BeauSoleil Home

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Campus

BeauSoleil, which means “sunshine” in Cajun French, is the name of the solar house designed and built by the team from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, first-time competitors in the Solar Decathlon. The house is a hybrid structure in every sense. With a focus on the culture and lifestyle of south Louisiana, BeauSoleil combines traditional, local design concepts with the latest innovations in energy efficiency and solar technology.

After the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2009, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s BeauSoleil returned to campus, where it will remain. “We put it here on campus so that students can experience it over the next several years and learn from it,” says Dr. Geoff Gjertson, the 2009 team’s faculty leader. On March 25, 2010, a dedication ceremony officially marked BeauSoleil’s permanent location next to Fletcher Hall, where the art and architecture program is based. At Solar Decathlon 2009, BeauSoleil won the People’s Choice Award. This accolade proved that the University of Louisiana at Lafayette succeeded in creating a solar-powered house that people wanted to call home.

Much of BeauSoleil’s appeal stemmed from its local flavor. The students made sure to incorporate space for Acadian cultural traditions such as cooking, entertaining, and socializing into their design. The result was a maison (house) with universal appeal.