BeauSoleil: DC Bound

Solar Decathlon Update: Every two years 20 university teams are chosen, based on proposals, to design an all-solar home and assemble it on the National Mall in Washington DC for public viewing and judging. Check back each Wednesday as the NAV Blog reports on the process of the design and construction of BeauSoleil, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's entry. For more info about the project, visit their website at ttp://www.beausoleilhome.org/. And check out short film about the project here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsuziBrNeO4

A report from the field:

Being a part of the BeauSoleil project has been such an exciting and stimulating experience. As a graduate student, being able to base my thesis on such a unique project is quite an opportunity. But this project is not solely for the graduate officers. The BeauSoleil home is a representation of our university and our architecture program, and we are interested in having all dedicated and willing students take part in the process.

Over the break, team officers traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with the U.S. Department of Energy’s organizers for the 2009 Solar Decathlon. During each session, we became more knowledgeable and prepared to compete at the highest level in this very competitive event on the U.S. National Mall against 19 universities from around the world. It was exciting to attend the pre-event workshop, once again emphasizing the magnitude of this experience. We feel confident that we are on track for success.

We submitted our construction documents and project manual which includes narratives and specifications to the DOE on Dec 16. We are still continuing to raise money for the project, but our most exciting current news is the start of construction. There are approximately 40 students helping to build this semester, and we are looking forward to having the shell shipped to our warehouse in approximately one month! At that time we will have a commemoration event to celebrate the construction. I encourage you all to attend!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at catguidry@yahoo.com or visit www.beausoleilhome.org

Catherine Guidry
TEAM BeauSoleil