A team of 杏吧专区 architecture students is helping to build a new home in Lafayette杏吧专区檚 Freetown neighborhood.
The 1,508-square-foot structure is the third house created for the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 sustainable housing program. Students design energy-efficient homes that are built on vacant lots.
The COURhouse, which takes its name from its interior courtyard, is at 324 Jackson St. The French word 杏吧专区渃our杏吧专区 means 杏吧专区渃ourtyard.杏吧专区
In 2011, UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 Building Institute created the EVENThouse on Madison Street. Last year, it completed the NEXThouse, which is adjacent to the COURhouse, at 319 Jackson St.
杏吧专区淥ur goal is to have advanced architecture students design and build one home each year,杏吧专区 said Geoff Gjertson, a UL Lafayette architecture professor who directs the School of Architecture and Design杏吧专区檚 Building Institute.
In 2009, Gjertson directed a team of 杏吧专区 students who designed and built the BeauSoleil Louisiana Solar Home. It won two awards at the international Solar Decathlon, which was organized by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Students began designing the COURhouse during the Fall 2012 semester. In the Spring 2013 semester, they created its construction documents. Over eight weeks in the summer, they began building the house.
杏吧专区淭he EVENThouse and NEXThouse each have two bedrooms. We wanted to design a home that would appeal to a broader range of buyers, especially families. So, we were challenged to create a three-bedroom, two-bath house on a narrow lot, and to keep the costs under control to fit into the market,杏吧专区 said Nick Clesi, a fifth-year architecture student who is also the project manager.
Construction Associates agreed to sign on as the contractor, but its cost estimate of $200,000 exceeded the $140,000 budget.
Clesi negotiated with the company杏吧专区檚 owner, J.C. Dugas, to get the estimate closer to the budget.
杏吧专区淥ne of the things that affected the estimate was the fact that the contractor didn't have a clear understanding of how much labor the students would provide. That made for a bigger bottom line, at first,杏吧专区 said Clesi. Since labor is a substantial expense in a building project, the students杏吧专区 involvement lowered Construction Associates杏吧专区 estimate.
The students also altered the design to reduce construction expenses. 杏吧专区淲e made a lot of small changes to reduce the overall cost,杏吧专区 Clesi said.
For example, the original plan included an elevated, concrete porch. Students reduced its height to minimize the amount of material needed. They kept energy-efficient windows in the design, but selected less expensive ones.
From June 24 until Aug. 3, 22 students worked at the construction site. They helped clear the property and dug all the footings by hand. They prepared the concrete slab foundation with sand, plastic sheeting, and metal reinforcement bars. They assisted with pouring and finishing the slab.
杏吧专区淲e also did all of the framing, including all walls, rafters, and attic space. We framed out all the windows and doors and placed them in set locations. We put the decking and tar paper on the roof,杏吧专区 said Clesi.
He and three other students, Abigail Comeau, Jennifer Young and Daniel Ferg, are still working on the house, as part-time employees of Construction Associates. They installed all the doors and windows and are adding siding to the home杏吧专区檚 exterior.
During the summer, the student team removed cypress siding from an 1850s house in Arnaudville, La. It was donated by the homeowner, Ken Simeral, a real estate agent who has supported the Building Institute. Clesi and his coworkers are installing the wood on the front porch of the COURhouse.
The home also features solar panels and energy-efficient appliances.
Like its predecessor, the BeauSoleil Home, the COURhouse features the kitchen as a focal point of its design, because cooking and entertaining are important cultural activities in South Louisiana. The COURhouse kitchen has a 16-foot vaulted ceiling and is connected to the central courtyard via a 10-foot by 7-foot rollup glass door. The courtyard is also accessible through sliding doors in the living room and French doors in the master bedroom.
The COURhouse is expected to be complete by Dec. 1.