A reunion of the team behind the BeauSoleil Louisiana Solar Home will coincide with the fifth anniversary of the design of the historically influenced structure.
The March 1 reunion will bring together Team BeauSoleil members, as well as faculty, administration and community advisors. The team was one of 20 groups from around the world that participated in the 2009 Solar Decathalon, a contest to design and build an energy-efficient, solar-powered house. The structures they constructed formed a “solar village” in the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
The BeauSoleil Louisiana Solar Home took first place in market viability and was named the People's Choice Award winner.
The team’s reunion will begin with a roundtable discussion at 1:30 p.m. in Room 134 of Fletcher Hall. It will be open to the public. It will start with a slideshow that tells the story of the conception, design, construction and completion of the BeauSoleil Home.
A discussion will follow to identify the impact of the project on the team, community and state, as well as potential future plans. Tours of the structure, which are also open to the public, will take place from 3:30-6 p.m.
The 800-square-foot structure features key elements of Louisiana culture. At the same time, it represents an architectural heritage that developed after Acadians, who were exiled from Nova Scotia by the British in the 1700s, settled in south Louisiana.
The home design incorporates several aspects of early Cajun cottages. For example, it emphasizes wide exterior porches for social interaction and casual entertaining, as well as movable exterior doors in the “dog-trot” that make access to the outside easy. The home also has a large kitchen that is the cultural center of the home.
The BeauSoleil Home takes advantage of natural breezes and utilizes several dual-purpose shutters, while collecting its own water and generating more energy than it uses.
It is designed to handle high winds, and can be elevated to provide housing in areas vulnerable to flooding.
For more information, contact Geoff Gjertsen at 337-278-2722 or log on at www.beausoleilhome.org
Contact: communications@louisiana.edu