Solar Decathlon: The Final Tally

Well, the judging is over and the results are in. Team Germany took first place. Illinois came in second, and Team California placed third.

Unfortunately, TEAM BeauSoleil fell a bit short in their effort to take home the trophy.

Unpacking the numbers in the final scoring, low scores in two of the ten categories - Net Metering and Hot Water - turned out to be fatal for ULL in the overall standings.

Otherwise, TEAM BeauSoleil posted very respectable numbers across the board including winning the Market Viability category.

Congratulations TEAM BeauSoleil for a monumental effort creating an affordable, livable, off-the-grid home. Your work has helped to created a powerful forward momentum for the future of sustainable housing.

Click on the official Solar Decathlon site for comprehensive statistics and competition photos.

Rainy Rainy Day

It was a very drizzly day out on the National Mall., but the competition continued. Solar Decathlon

Still, Gretchen Lacombe Vanicor, TEAM BeauSoleil project manager, keeps her enthusiasm as she presents unique features to soaked visitors.

Tomorrow, the awards ceremony and a concert on the BeauSoleil deck by none other than Beausoleil - the band, not the house.

BeauSoleil wins Market Viability Award

photos: TEAM BeauSoleil

BeauSoleil wins Market Viability Award - a testament to TEAM BeauSoleil's focus on creating an all-solar home that is a realistic, affordable option for everyday living.

Solar Decathlon: BeauSoleil Opens to the Public

photos: TEAM BeauSoleil

I'm leaving for DC in about an hour to join TEAM BeauSoleil and tour all 20 homes. Tomorrow through this weekend, look for tons of Johnny-on-the-Spot photos.

Solar Decathlon - View All 20 Entries

This week, it's all Solar Decathlon.

Click on this link to view all 20 all-solar homes in the competition, and consider voting for BeauSoleil Home. I did!

BeauSoleil: Room With a View

Photo: TEAM BeauSoleil

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. And check out a short film about the project.



The photo - a shot from inside the BeauSoleil all-solar home.

When I lived in Washington, I had a running ritual. My house was in Capitol Hill, a half mile from the Capitol. I ran down Capitol Hill, then along the mall up to and around the Washington Monument (I would touch it every time), back down the mall, up Capitol Hill - and believe me, it is a hill! - then back home.

Five miles exactly.

For several years, I ran the mall 4-6 times a week. That was a few years and a few pounds ago.

Still, this photo brings back memories.

BeauSoleil: All-solar Home Erected on the Mall in DC

If you're in the neighborhood, drop by and take a tour of ULL's entry in the Solar Decathlon on the Mall in Washington.

Your best bet for transportation is the DC Metro. (Good luck parking, if you're auto-determined.) Get off at the Smithsonian exit, and you'll be right in the thick of things.

Next week, I'll be in DC posting on the Solar Decathlon every day, so stay tuned!

BeauSoleil: Have House, Will Travel

BeauSoleil: Dress Rehearsal

photos: Philip Gould

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. And check out a short film about the project.



A couple of images by photographer Philip Gould depict the BeauSoleil home set up in Lafayette and "ready to go."

Th all-solar home is now en route to DC. I'll be stepping up the coverage over the next few weeks as TEAM BeauSoleil puts down roots on the National Mall.

Popping the Cork on BeauSoleil

Photo: the Daily Advertiser

TEAM BeauSoleil celebrated the competition their Solar Decathlon entry Thursday evening with an exhuberent "Bon Voyage" party.

The all-solar home, designed and constructed by ULL students, will now be on its way to Washington, DC where it will be installed on the National Mall along with 19 other university teams for public display and judging.

Set-up begins October 1st, homes are open to the public starting October 9th, and the event culminates with the awards ceremony on October 16th.

Lafayette's Daily Advertiser posted this photo essay and write-up.

BeauSoleil: Bon Voyage

BeauSoleil: Completion in Site

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. And check out a short film about the project.



Geoff Gjertsen, architect and faculty adviser for TEAM BeauSoleil, reports that progress is moving along nicely and on schedule for an August 24th roll-out.

There's an old saying in architecture: The last 10% takes 90% of the effort - an exaggeration under most circumstances, but no doubt there will be a flurry of activity over the next three weeks.

This is crunch time.

BeauSoleil: Hot, Hot, Hot !!!

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. And check out a short film about the project.





A report from the field...

We’ve kicked it into high-gear and have been working about nine hours a day (with a lunch break of course) to bring you guys the solar home of the future! The exterior is nearly finished-out and we’ve gotten the sheetrock ready for being finished and painted!

The transitional porch is nearly done as well! The aluminum frame is completed and the plumbers finished installing the fin-based, water heating system on Friday.

Monday the polycarbonate roof goes on and the roof is completed!!! All that’s left is the Nanawall system and finishing-up the cypress and bug screen!

Sorry for having so many exclamation points in this update. Things are just really exciting right now. It’s definitely worth a visit, preferably on Tuesdays!
Have a BeauSoleil Day!

Chris Dufreche, TEAM BeauSoleil


Some BeauSoleil Facts and Figures...

* although the home is only 800 sf, the surrounding porch is another 1700 sf
* the IPE wood (FSC Certified-Sustainably grown) deck on the porch should last 100 years
* the millwork shop which milled our siding for the rainscreen is going to name our unique siding profie "BeauSoleil"
* the UL Ragin Cajun Football team lent us their sideline PortaCoolers to us to help keep the students cool in our warehouse during construction. Thanks Caoch Bustle!
* The interior doors for the BeauSoleil Home will be made from reclaimed cypress and polycarbonate vision lites
* we are using paperless sheetroack in the bathroom of the BeauSoleil Home to reduce the possibility of mold growth
* the aluminum solar fins manufactured by Begneaud for us will be coated with a special silicon paint to increase the amount of heat they will collect

BeauSoleil Heats Up

photos by Philip Gould

Things are heating up at the BeauSoleil World Headquarters in Lafayette. In the midst of a heat wave in muggy southern Louisiana, TEAM BeauSoleil is charging ahead WITHOUT air conditioning. Talk about sweat equity...

Time Lapse BeauSoleil

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. And check out a short film about the project.

Click on this link for a time-lapse film of the past 3 months or so of construction at the BeauSoleil World Headquarters. QuickTime player required.

It's taking shape!

BeauSoliel: Home Stretch

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. And check out a short film about the project.

I recently made a visit to the BeauSoleil World Headquarters in Lafayette, Louisiana where Professor Geoff Gjertson and graduate student Catherine Guidry gave me a tour of the construction progress.

With the Solar Decathlon coming up in October, TEAM BeauSoleil is in full construction mode. The basic frame with wall and roof panels are in place as are the windows. Soon, interior and exterior finishes, will be applied.

As with any piece of experimental architecture, magical little details are beginning to appear. Contrary to popoular opinion, a "good set of drawings" is not all it takes to complete the building. Frank Lloyd Wright famously refused to finish the interior drawings until the shell construction was completed and he could stand in the building and make decisions about the final details. Sometimes he went so far as to move a drafting board into the space and finish drawings then and there.

Reports from the field:

Well it has been an exciting week for the Beausoleil Team. We have just finished up a very tough semester and we are gearing up for the hot and very humid Louisiana summer. Summertime also means fulltime work on our project, which has been through some amazing changes. We have just made some major updates to our cd’s. By correcting and refining our layout our cd’s are looking pretty good. So far things are looking very good for finishing on time. Starting next week we will continue to tweak some minor issues and hopefully finish them up in a timely manner, since we will be at full strength as we welcome back the rest of our team.

Greg Jefferson - TEAM BeauSoleil

This week the design and construction crew down at the BeauSoleil Worldwide Headquarters is raising the roof…literally! We’ve been making great progress on the various roof systems the house incorporates. The galvalume metal roofing is installed and the aluminum roof frame that houses the water heating system is also being made! The fancy, shifting-ridge roof we designed is kind-of a pain in the neck sometimes, but boy does it look good! We’ll continue with posts to keep you guys up-to-date on all the shenanigans going on at the BeauSoleil Worldwide Headquarters. Have a BeauSoleil Day!

Chris Dufreche -TEAM BeauSoleil

BeauSoleil: RubBoard

US National Archives

The Cajun instrument known as the frotoir is the result of a complex and rich evolutionary process. Basically the frotoir is a rub-board- a corrugated metal device used to wash clothing by hand. The highly recognizable sixteenth notes in Cajun and Zydeco music come from the rapid rubbing of a spoon on the frotoir- the “chanka-chanka.” Legend has it that Clifton Chenier, the pre-eminent Cajun accordion player asked and a certain Mr. Landry, an oil-field machinist, to adapt the traditional rectangular rub-board to a more ergonomic form better-suited to playing Cajun and Zydeco music. This meeting of industrial machine processes and culture led to a beautifully formed single piece of stainless steel with shoulder supports and a contoured playing surface.

In many ways, the BeauSoleil Home reflects this same tradition of a melding of culture and industry. The design of the home relies upon the most advanced technology for energy generation and climate control. But it also relies upon the adaptation of traditional building forms and materials as well as passive cooling strategies. Like the frotoir, the BeauSoleil Home is not extravagant or over-wrought. It is simple and modest. The BeauSoleil home is first and foremost functional. Just as Cajun culture has traditionally done, it makes the most of a little. Social interaction, in the form of entertaining and cooking, are the daily rituals which inspire its form. The home adapts to the unexpected, whether it be an unexpected guest and a subsequent crawfish boil or a hurricane.

Architecturally, the BeauSoleil home is not overly formalistic or rationally ordered. Its small size (800 square feet) require a certain degree of order and efficiency but the home does not forsake its roots. The home has a very generous kitchen and bathroom. These are two areas which modern architects tended to label as “service” spaces. In fact, many of the past Decathlon homes relegate these rooms to thickened “walls,” barely inhabitable spaces. The BeauSoleil Home does not divide its spaces into “served” and “service” spaces as Louis Kahn and other modern architects did. Mechanical spaces do not drive the use of the space. These pieces of equipment are placed in lofts and penthouses where they belong- out of the way of human habitation.

In a competition where the rules tend to dictate the form of all of the homes, the BeauSoleil Home again refuses to ignore Louisiana. A majority of the Decathlon homes do not have porches. The rules tend to discourage these spaces which are considered marginal by the organizers. The BeauSoleil Home refuses to exclude the porch. Our culture requires the porch for day to day life. In fact, the home has two porches- the dogtrot or transitional porch and the kitchen porch. Contrary to the insinuation of the rules, these are not marginal spaces- they are the stages of everyday life.

-W. Geoff Gjertson, AIA
TEAM BeauSoleil Faculty Advisor

Biking For BeauSoleil

Photos by TEAM BeauSoleil

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. And check out a short film about the project.

BIKE FOR BEAUSOLEIL is a fundraiser and family event to raise money and community support for the BeauSoleil Louisiana Solar Home. BIKE FOR BEAUSOLEIL is a part of the College of the Arts FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS. The concept of the races is for the public to go green, live healthy, maintain good fitness, bring their family and support TEAM BeauSoleil.

The event will take place at the BeauSoleil Warehouse located at the United Way Complex, 215 E. Pinhook, on Saturday, April 4th at 9am to 1pm, with pre-registration starting at 8am. Pre-race refreshments will be served. There is a 10-mile fun ride, and the options of 30 or 50-mile rides for experienced cyclists.

All races will end back at the BeauSoleil Warehouse. Racers, their families and the public are welcome to visit the Warehouse beginning at 11 am for a family-friendly, fun-filled time. A post-ride Cajun meal will be served at that time to the racers, Jr. Hebert and the Maurice Playboys will be playing and the warehouse will be open for people to view the progress of the BeauSoleil home (the shell has been completed.) There will also be a fun jump to entertain the younger crowd. Hope to see you all there!

A report from the field:

Right now is a very busy time for TEAM BeauSoleil. We are working daily on the construction of our home and daily finding solutions to the challenges we face. The LEED class students are researching different materials and products that will help produce a sustainable and responsible home. The Russo Group and PR team are working diligently to spread our message, complete our Communications Plan, and raise funds. Many of the officers are working to complete our construction documents and project manual to resubmit to the DOE. 482 students are completing mock-ups of planters and storage solutions. Interior design students are selecting finishes and furniture. Engineering students are continuing research on the solar hot water heater and photovoltaic system. Business students are researching market viability of the BeauSoleil Louisiana Solar Home. We are all really busy, but the students are all learning so much and gaining valuable experience.

-Gretchen LaCombe Vanicor

TEAM BeauSoleil Project Manager