<blockquote><p align=justify>
LAFAYETTE — The University of Louisiana's solar-powered, BeauSoleil home is closer to production as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s international design-build competition, the Solar Decathlon.
The university’s School of Architecture and Design was selected as one of 20 collegiate teams for the international competition that will take place in October 2009 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
The BeauSoleil team includes more than 70 UL students and faculty representative of the colleges of arts, sciences, engineering and business.
“We’re excited to take our claim as one of the top 20 universities in the world for sustainable design,” said Gretchen LaCombe Vanicor, a ULL architecture graduate student and the team’s project manager.
<center><p><a href="http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/30077884.html?showAll=y&c=y" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
By MARSHA SILLS
Advocate Acadiana bureau
<!--
This time next year, the team’s 800-square-foot solar-powered cypress-clad home will be assembled on the lawn of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as part of a “solar village” of homes.
The international competition challenges student designers to design and build a home that’s completely off the grid. The teams are judged in 10 different categories, ranging from architectural elements and how much solar energy is produced, to entertainment provided to “guests.”
On Wednesday, the team continued to move past the design phase to construction of structurally insulated panels for the home began at Louisiana System Built Homes in St. Martinville. The home manufacturing company has offered its support to the team and is interested in producing the house for consumers.
While the team’s prototype will cost about $200,000, the one-bedroom, one-bath design may be marketed to consumers for about $100,000.
The biggest challenge aside from the rules was to make it both affordable and include hurricane-resistant technology, LaCombe Vanicor said.
The structure is built to withstand 140 mph winds and can also be elevated, a major design issue for residents in coastal areas.
The house offers a “Louisiana feel with a modern twist,” said Jeremy Credeur, the students’ team construction manager.
Credeur and other team members explained the home’s design elements during an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday at warehouse space at the United Way of Acadiana’s nonprofit complex.
The prototype is a one-bedroom, one-bath home with a living area and kitchen. The two sides of the house are divided by a transitional, breezeway that can be enclosed. Its doors can be moved around on a square track to create additional living space where needed. When used as an outdoor space, a motorized screen can be rolled down to protect against mosquitoes.
The project is answering a critical need for housing, said Margaret Trahan, executive director of the United Way of Acadiana. The organization is providing the space at a discounted rate, and a $25,000 from the Department of Natural Resources offsets some of the rental expense.
“The BeauSoleil project means affordable housing, which is a need,” especially following the 2005 hurricane season, Trahan said. “We know it has community-wide impact. We know it’s a community-wide effort.”
It also needs continued community-wide support. The team needs about $200,000 more in funding for the project, said Geoff Gjertson, UL Lafayette associate professor of architecture and faculty team coordinator on the project.
For the next few months, while the team finalizes its construction plans, which are due to the competition in December, they’ll also be fund raising and educating the community about sustainable design.
“We want to bring the lessons we’re learning beyond our home and influence the community to be more environmentally responsible,” Vanicor said.
The community will have an opportunity to purchase art for the house during a silent auction set for Oct. 11 through Nov. 14 at Galerie Lafayette.
“Our goal is to bring Louisiana to Washington, D.C.,” Vanicor said.
-->
