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.

Building Institute19/08/2017 @ 13:37

Wrap-up to my stay in the MODESTEhouse

After 11 days and 114 hours in the MODESTEhouse I can say with certainty that it is very livable. I cooked, showered, slept, and habitated very comfortably and I am sure I could live there much longer. Obviously I missed my family and I would probably eventually miss some of my belongings but there was serenity and simplicity in the MODESTEhouse. I have written about the best buildings and building processes as being “unhurried.” That is how I felt in the tiny house.

We have a “punchlist” of items to correct and finish in the MODESTEhouse over the next month and soon we will be turning it over to Lafayette Habitat for Humanity and helping them to move it to a homeowner’s site. When we turn-it over we will have a public dedication for everyone to see the home and to thank all the people and companies who made this incredible project a reality. Thanks for listening to all my musings over the past two weeks. If you have additional questions feel free to message me. Talk to you soon!

(Image: Porch ceiling of the MODESTEhouse)

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Building Institute added 2 new photos.17/08/2017 @ 19:59

MhT day 11 aug. 16

By the numbers:

216 sf including porch and loft
8'-6" wide
13'-10" high
34" off ground
24' long + trailer tongue
Approx. 8,000 lbs.
Half-ton truck adequate for towing
1 ton/1 zone minisplit heat pump
4- 250 watt pvs
2- 30 lb. propane tanks
5.3 gal. Propane tankless water heater
100 amp panel
7 duplex outlets
8 LED light fixtures
70 shelves in the storage grid
10 gallons of adhesive to glue shells
110 sheets of 1/8" plywood in shells
206 sf of polycarbonate
$70 worth of groceries for 2 weeks

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Building Institute17/08/2017 @ 19:37

MhT day 11 aug. 17

By the numbers:

114 hours spent in the house over 11 days
10.36 hours on average per day

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Building Institute17/08/2017 @ 19:21

MhT day 11 aug. 17

By the numbers:

44 gallon greywater tank
11 days to fill up from sink and shower
11 days to fill 2-1/2 gal. liquid tank in compost toilet
30-45 days until solids tank needs to be added to the compost heap

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Building Institute added 2 new photos.17/08/2017 @ 18:55

MhT day 11 aug. 17

Recycling and trash after 11 days.

PROJECT CATEGORY : Featured / Homes / Large Projects

NEXThouse

Lafayette, Louisiana

The NEXThouse is the second market-rate, sustainable home in the UL Lafayette Building Institute’s Neighborhood Infill Program which was designed and built during the 2011-2012 school year. The home demonstrates a unique public-private partnership whereby a public trust lends money to the university who in turns serves as architect and developer- designing, building and selling the home. A local contractor worked in tandem with the students. In this unique project delivery system, students are actively involved through participation and decision making with all the design/construction entities. 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 NEXThouse sets a precedent in the at-risk neighborhood it was built by being the first new home built in over 30 years and by achieving the National Green Building Standard level of Bronze while remaining market-rate. In this way, the home serves as a sales “comp” for the real estate market where there was none before, thus easing the way for future green projects.

Project Delivery:

Design-bid-build (Students designed the project, produced construction drawings, bid the project, and worked with a contractor to build the home) 60% students and 40% contractors/subcontractors.