University of Louisiana at Lafayette architecture students have designed the first building, in a series of five buildings, for a research and entertainment park in Arnaudville, Louisiana. 

This project is a joint venture between the non-profits, Levity and Les Deux Bayou S.T.E.A.M park, which are leasing the 5-acre property for the park, and the School of Architecture and Design’s Building Institute. 

The building they have designed, named the Aquahouse, is a restroom and shower facility for the park. According to Geoffrey Gjertson, an architecture professor and director of the Building Institute, a group of 15 students designed the Aquahouse in the Fall 2024 semester. 

The design has evolved into a second version due to a need for a simpler design and cost reduction. There are currently five students working on the project as an elective this semester. 

If the funding for the Aquahouse is raised by May 2025, then ground will be broken and Gjertson will have 15 graduate and senior students begin construction on the building this summer. 

“[…]And so it’s an intensive project that students get, not only a lot of construction experience, but they understand how construction affects their design decisions, and they also learn collaboration and integration of all the different systems that have to happen in a building,” Gjertson said. 

For the Aquahouse to be fully funded, both the University and the non-profits will each need to raise $80,000 for a combined total of $160,000. If this goal is not met by May, then construction of the Aquahouse will be pushed back to the summer of 2026. 

Currently, the University has raised $20,000, but Gjertson is hopeful that enough money will be raised to keep the project on track for May construction. “So we’re directly approaching the architectural community to try to get funding for the project. And they’re funding not just the building, but they’re funding for the experience, for the students,” Gertson said. 

This experience is the first of many, as the Aquahouse is the first building in a series of five buildings to be designed and built by UL Lafayette students. The goal of these buildings is to accommodate many types of events and create a cultural hub for Arnaudville. Some of these events will include educational workshops, a farmers market, research projects and entertainment like renaissance fairs, steampunk fairs and music festivals. 

These buildings are planned to be built every three years and will be directly influenced by at least 200 students. “I think students really want to do this kind of work. One of the reasons that I think students today go into many of their professions, especially architecture, is because they want to help their communities, they want to give back and they want to improve the community and the world,” Gjertson said. 

Along with improving the community comes a focus on sustainability in architecture. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, buildings consume 75% of the electricity and 40% of the total energy used in the United States. They are the largest energy consumer in the United States. 

With those facts in mind, the designs and planned construction for the buildings have been oriented around sustainability. Resilience, storm resistance and self sufficiency are also important aspects of sustainability. 

According to Gjertson, the buildings will be built with recycled materials, like recycled plastics. For the Aquahouse specifically, construction will include a building block made from a special recyclable plastic. Gjertson explained the design will incorporate all the things it can to save energy and water. 

The Building Institute is the University’s building program that allows students the opportunity to develop, design and build their own designs for the greater Lafayette community. Since 2003, the program has built over 18 projects throughout the community, including its most recent project, the House of Cards. The House of Cards is a one room artist retreat, also built in Arnaudville. 

The collaborators for the research and entertainment park are two non-profits based in Arnaudville. Levity is a think tank and multidisciplinary residency space that works on solving environmental issues using sustainable solutions. 

Les Deux Bayou S.T.E.A.M park is a combination of science, entertainment, math, technology and cultural preservation.