Another look at the Gridshell Pavilion completed by University of Louisiana at Lafayette Architecture students.

LUS workers dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS workers dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS worker Marcus Thibodeaux and others dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS workers dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS workers dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS workers dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS workers dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS worker Marcus Thibodeaux and others dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

The Gridshell Pavilion sees its first guests during a reception to celebrate the completion of the project by University of Louisiana at Lafayette architecture students on Tuesday along Camelia Blvd.. According to Geoff Gjertson, Director of the Building Institute at the university, a formal opening will be held January second.

The Beau Soleil Home can be seen on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019, on campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Another look at the Gridshell Pavilion completed by University of Louisiana at Lafayette Architecture students.

LUS workers dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS workers dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS worker Marcus Thibodeaux and others dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS workers dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS workers dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS workers dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS workers dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

LUS worker Marcus Thibodeaux and others dismantle the Lafayette Strong pavilion after it was recently deemed no longer structurally sound Wednesday, July, 13, 2022, on Camelia Boulevard in Lafayette, La. The structure, which was designed and built in 2015 and 2016 by UL-Lafayette architecture students, was renamed from Camellia Art Park Gridshell Pavilion to the Lafayette Strong Pavilion in commemoration of ÒLafayetteÕs strength after the tragic Grand Theater shootings in 2015,Ó according to a Lafayette Consolidated Government press release.

The Gridshell Pavilion sees its first guests during a reception to celebrate the completion of the project by University of Louisiana at Lafayette architecture students on Tuesday along Camelia Blvd.. According to Geoff Gjertson, Director of the Building Institute at the university, a formal opening will be held January second.

Wood from cypress trees is stronger and more rot resistant than white oak, but wasn't flexible enough to use in building the Lafayette Strong Pavilion on Camellia Boulevard, which was torn down July 13 due to disrepair.

The wooden gridshell pavilion was designed and built by University of Louisiana at Lafayette School of Architecture and Design students and dedicated in 2016 near St. Barnabas Church and the entrance to River's Bend subdivision.

The project came under fire on social media July 12 when Lafayette Consolidated Government announced the 30-foot by 40-foot structure that stood about 14 feet tall would be torn down because it was no longer structurally sound. Some posters questioned the choice of wood.

Cypress was historically the go-to wood in South Louisiana because it's able to resist rot caused by our wet, hot climate.

W. Geoff Gjertson, a professor in the University of Louisiana at Lafayette School of Architecture and Design, said Thursday the pavilion design required strong wood that was flexible and bendable to create the gridshell shape. Cypress wouldn't work because it doesn't bend. White oak is the next-best option, he said, because it's rot resistant, strong and flexible.

South Louisiana's weather -- dry, wet, dry, wet and heat -- is not kind to wood.

"We had always known the structure was going to last maybe 10-15 years," Gjertson said. "It ended up lasting a little less, some of that due to storms, too."

The gridshell pavilion was an experiment that hadn't been done in the area before, Gjertson said. Gridshell structures in other places have been removed due to deterioration. It doesn't mean the design was bad or the students erred, he said.

"For us," Gjertson said, "it was the process of building it that was important."

A $50,000 grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada was the catalyst for the project, which cost about $70,000-80,000. The Canadian grant was supplemented with a grant from the Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authority and support from the Acadiana Center for the Arts and the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission.

Lafayette Consolidated Government provided the site as well as a sidewalk.

Some online posters alleged LCG budgeted thousands of dollars a year to maintain the Lafayette Strong Pavilion. The 2021-22 budget shows a line item of $10,000 for contract services for the Camellia greenbelt which includes the entire section of city-owned land alongside Camellia Boulevard on the Johnston Street side of the Vermilion River.

Early on the morning of July 13, LCG workers tore down the pavilion, leaving the cement foundation. Gjerston would like to see another structure built in that spot, maybe with a contest to select the best design. 

"We would like something to be placed there as a continual memorial" to victims of a July 2015 fatal shooting at the Grand Theater and the community support and solidarity that followed.

This wasn't the first UL student structure to face problems. In 2019, it looked like the award-winning BeauSoleil Home would be demolished because of Formosan termite damage.

The Beau Soleil Home can be seen on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019, on campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

The BeauSoleil Home was designed and created by UL Lafayette students and competed in the 2009 SolarDecathlon, an international university competition hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. The structure won for People’s Choice and Market Viability. It spent about 10 years on the UL campus where it was attacked by Formosan termites off and on for several years.

Gjertson said the two situations are not comparable. The BeauSoleil house sat vacant and unused for years, which made it attractive to the aggressive termites.

The good news is the BeauSoleil house was saved. Someone made a donation to the university in exchange for the house, which was moved to Arnaudville where it's being renovated for use as a home, Gjertson said.

Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.

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