Southeastern celebrates new student housing with ribbon-cutting ceremony

On September 23rd, Southeastern Louisiana University hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony, officially celebrating the opening of two new residence halls on campus – Ascension Hall and Twelve Oaks Hall. This 556-bed new student housing center consists of two 4-story residence halls located on the western part of the main campus.

The new residence halls provide flexible living / learning meeting spaces, classrooms, group study spaces, informal lounges, common kitchens, common laundries, a convenience store (Grab and Go), as well as a common dining / gathering space that allows a diversity of places for students to live and learn in the digital environment.

The building utilizes several sustainable features including: geothermal wells for heating and cooling, operable windows at each bed, shading louvers at the corners (where fully glazed), and LED light fixtures through-out.

The incorporation of a unique hybrid geothermal system will save Southeastern yearly in operational cost. The implementation of this approach to a dormitory building is more complex than typical commercial applications and is reported to be the second-largest hybrid geothermal system in the United States [Climate Masters 2018].

DonahueFavret Contractors was the General Contractor for the project. Consultants include Salas O’Brien (MEP), Schrenk, Endom & Flanagan (Civil, Structural) and Ritter Consulting Engineers (Abatement).