Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE)

A cooperative endeavor between the Lafayette Economic Development Authority and the University of Louisiana Lafayette, LITE was conceived as an economic generator for the greater Lafayette region.

LOCATION

LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA

SIZE

62,500 SF

YEAR OF COMPLETION

2006

SERVICES

ARCHITECTURE

PHOTOGRAPHER

TIMOTHY HURSLEY

AWARDS

2008 AIA GULF STATES AWARD OF MERIT 2008 AIA NEW ORLEANS AWARD OF MERIT 2007 AIA LOUISIANA HONOR AWARD

The project provides unprecedented research and development opportunities utilizing computer visualization technologies for a wide range of potential leasing clients – from oil and gas exploration companies to university researchers. LITE includes incubator office space for several data technology companies, along with a variety of high performance immersion environments including a 200-seat auditorium, two multi-purpose conference rooms and a 3-D visualization cube (or CAVE). The cube is the first total immersion environment of its kind in the region, and one of only a handful in the nation.

In order to call attention to the high-performance technology contained within, the client requested that the cube be featured as a prominent visual element within the design, reflecting innovation and entrepreneurship. To accomplish this goal, the self-contained cube is sheathed with an outer skin of translucent glass. The interstitial space between the glass envelope and the interior cube is illuminated at night, providing an ethereal glow of colored light.

The 3D visualization cube (or Total Immersion Space (TIS)) allows multiple users to be completely immersed in a virtual digital environment. The TIS is a technically complex six-sided cube which utilizes multiple digital projections in a motion-tracking environment.