More than a language
Mavis Frugé's idea of Saint-Luc started as a five-day French immersion session in 2005. Since then it has evolved into an educational and cultural organization designed to perpetuate the rich Louisiana heritage that has seeded day-to-day life in bilingual Arnaudville, Louisiana and the neighboring communities of Acadiana. As a non-profit entity with a Board of Directors and a dynamic group of community partners and volunteers, Saint-Luc provides visitors and community alike with French immersive experiences in the realms of culture, economy, the arts, education and the environment. It encourages charitable actions and provides a nurturing environment for new initiatives.
Arnaudville, Louisiana
Arnaudville is a town located on the border of St. Landry and St. Martin parish in Louisiana. On the original site of an Attakapas Indian village, Arnaudville is one of the oldest remaining towns in St. Landry Parish.
“Mavis Frugé, with her enthusiasm and generosity, invited us all to see the jewel that is French Louisiana from a new perspective. And it's clear from the large number of people who return to Arnaudville again and again that Saint-Luc is a success.”
Amanda LaFleur
Former Saint-Luc Board President
Purchasing the Campus
In November of 2019 Saint-Luc purchased the St. Luke General Hospital building in hopes of creating a physical space of its own -- the Saint-Luc French Immersion and Cultural Campus in Arnaudville. In pioneering a new French immersion campus, they aimed to build on what they established over the course of 12 years, as well as draw inspiration from the French immersion structure at Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia, Canada. With renovation begun, the Saint-Luc Campus was on its way to be a versatile center for French immersion, education, and cultural exchanges, offering spaces for learning, collaboration, and traditional crafts.
A Second Wind
In 2023, it was announced that the Saint-Luc French immersion project would be discontinued. Board members and project supporters saw few, if any options due to unanticipated challenges and obstacles that emerged during renovation of the newly purchased building and the COVID-19 pandemic. But in response to the announcement, concerned and passionate advocates for its mission came forward, and with effective brainstorming, viable options emerged that could save the initiative, keeping the dream alive.
"I am a product of a similar immersion program, and saw first hand how it enriched the surrounding community both culturally and economically. The program would provide employment opportunities as well as opportunities for the public, both young and old, to gather, study, maintain and grow our language in a community building environment for generations to come."
Ashlee Wilson
French teacher and former immersion student
Why Arnaudville?
Arnaudville, Louisiana is a community with many local French speakers. The remoteness of this agricultural town located at the crossing of two bayous in South Louisiana makes it a perfect place for French immersion education for Adults. This perfect backdrop also includes assets that add to the value of the experience such as a National Paddle Trail on Bayou Teche with a trailhead, a local brewery and artist collaboratives.
Town of Arnaudville Limits and Deux Bayous Cultural District Boundaries
The Deux Bayou cultural district plan served as a jumping off point for the St-Luc campus plan by categorizing the cultural assets in the Arnaudville community.
Public and Institutional Lands
About half of the land in the town core is owned by either governments or institutions serving the greater community. This includes St-Luc’s campus and the community center.
St. Francis Regis Catholic Church owns much of the land that can connect St-Luc’s students and faculty back to the center of town and serves as a key component for creating pedestrian connections through the cemetery.
Public assets
Food & Beverage
- 14. The Little Big Cup
- 15. Holy Grounds
26. Myran's Maison De Manger
- 27. Dodge's Fire House Bar & Café
- 30. Bayou Teche Brewery
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Community
- 1. Arnaudville Community Center
- 18. Arnaudville City Hall
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Parks & Recreation
- 17. Arnaudville Baseball Park
- 22. Arnaudville Canoe/ Kayak Launch
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Markets & Pharmacies
- 3. Courtney's Thrifty Way Pharmacy
- 4. Butch's Convenience Store
- 11. Russell's Food Center
- 12. C.A. Guidry Produce
- 13. Tom's Fiddle & Bow
- 16. Hardy's Drug Store
- 21. Gulf South Lumber & Hardware
- 28. Guidry's Fresh Cuts
- 29. Acadiana Native Plant Project
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Churches
- 5. St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Church
- 6. St. Francis Regis Church
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Education
- 7. Arnaudville Middle School
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Arts
- 9. Lisa's Dance Studio
- 23. Levity / UL Building Institute (FUTURE)
- 24. NUNU Arts & Culture Collective / Deux Bayous Gallery
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Lodging
- 10. Les Deux Mondes
- 31. Brewhouse Cottage
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Banks & Postal Services
- 2. United States Postal Service
- 8. Washington State Bank
- 25. Farmers Merchants Bank & Trust
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Fitness & Health
- 19. The Light House
- 20. Alex's Tumbling
Potential Ateliers (workshops) Partners
Potential partners who can integrate existing programing into the St-Luc plan can be divided into these categories taking the lead from the cultural district plan:
Arts & Cultural Facilities:
- Bayou Teche Brewery
- Tom's Fiddle & Bow
- Lisa's Dance Studio
- Levity / UL Building Institute (Future_
- NUNU Arts & Culture Collective / Deux Bayous Gallery
Wildlife & Nature Facilities:
- Arnaudville Canoe / Kayak Launch
- Atelier de la Nature & Sculpture Park
Agricultural Facilities:
- Acadiana Native Plant Project
Educational & Lecture Facilities:
- Arnaudville Community Center
Heritage & Spiritual Facilities:
- St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Church
- St. Francis Regis Church
Survey & Engagement
An online survey was sent to three different groups of users, the Learner, the Teacher and the Teacher-Learner in aims to gather valuable input to inform the design process. By collecting feedback on preferences, needs, and expectations, the survey helps ensure that the master plan aligns with the actual requirements and desires of the groups it will serve.
Comments from Learners
Comments from Teachers
Comments from Teacher/Learners
Stakeholder Engagement
Two stakeholder meetings were held where the design team received feedback from St-Luc board members and community stakeholders. This feedback, along with survey results, were incorporated into the final Campus Master Plan vision document.
15 Year Campus Plan
Two Campuses in One
Because the historic hospital is too large to serve the current needs for the St-Luc organization, yet could one day be needed as the St-Luc grows, the idea emerged that the campus could be designed to accommodate both the short term needs of St-Luc and serve for another need in the community: housing. This will not only solve multiple challenges but also bring with it much needed financing in order to advance the St-Luc campus. This two-campuses-in-one idea serves as the main framework for the campus master plan.
The master plan calls for St-Luc to partner with a multi-family developer to rehabilitate the historic hospital structure and add a new building while St-Luc constructs smaller scale lodging and learning space components on the remaining land. This allows the campus to grow with the organization rather than having to expend the needed capital to rehabilitate the original structure.
Sharing Space
The campus begins to take shape because of the ability to share spaces and share costs between St-Luc and the multi-family housing component. As seen in the diagram below, classrooms, parking and other amenities can be shared, making it more feasible for financing the project as well as more amenities for both components.
Campus Organization
Circulation and Arrivals
The campus master plan begins by connecting the campus to the Arnaudville community after analyzing the locations of town assets and potential collaborators.
Pedestrian Spine
A pedestrian spine is proposed to separate pedestrians from vehicles and connect the campus to the town core and to the adjacent Arnaudville Community Center - an often underutilized facility.
Circulation Offshoots
Pedestrian arrival and circulation offshoots connect the parking areas with the rest of the campus. These two offshoots are angled with the historic St. Luke Hospital buildings angles, funneling users from the parking areas to the programming on campus.
Vehicular Access
Vehicular access is limited to Guidroz street (a State Highway) and Olive Street in order to limit conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles.
Service Areas
Service areas include both loading zones and dumpsters and are located in two places on the campus. One service area serves the apartments while the other serves the St-Luc program.
Environmentally Responsible Campus
The campus includes a network of stormwater management features to deal with water from storm events on-site. This helps prevent downstream flooding and provides campus visitors with dynamic outdoor spaces. Primary features include a large rain garden at the campus entrance and a series of planted swales that treat runoff from the parking areas and buildings and slow down stormwater to manage it on-site.
Native plants are used throughout the site, helping to establish a sense of place within the campus and making connections to local ecologies. These plants also offer an opportunity for campus visitors to engage with the cultural history of these plants, learning their French names and studying their historical uses by Louisiana residents.
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Program Elements on Campus
The campus plan aims to weave both the St-Luc needed program spaces with the housing and town-owned assets. The program buildings and outdoor spaces are layered on top of the circulation to create a cohesive campus that is easily understood by visitors and users.
Public Face of Campus
The public face of the campus includes a drop-off area and a sense of arrival as one crosses from the parking and stormwater management features into the campus quad.
A new gallery space and welcome center displays St-Luc cultural products and student work and doubles as a library for the Francophone community.
This area also includes an outdoor seating area for campus students, teachers, and visitors. A Petanque court allows for on-campus recreation and provides students and teachers an outdoor venue to extend campus programming.
Cabins
A grouping of new cabins is nestled in the rear corner of the campus, providing a camp-like environment for students. The faculty residences also include a “salon” or living area for students in the evenings. Smaller gathering areas are featured between the cabins, giving guests more intimate outdoor spaces to relax, study, or congregate between formal instruction.
Ateliers
Space for three atelier buildings is along both the pedestrian spine and Olive Street. This buffers the residents and separates the active area from the residential areas. These spaces accommodate specialized programming and include outdoor space to extend learning opportunities beyond the buildings.
Historic St. Luke Hospital Building
The historic St. Luke hospital building is to be rehabilitated and adaptively reused as longer-term multifamily residences, with the option of being converted into shorter term stays for students and faculty as the St-Luc program grows.
Multi-Family Apartments
In order to create an economy of scale for the apartments a new two-story apartment building is placed on the angled offshoot circulation from the parking at the street corner. The new building frames a flexible open space that will serve longer-term residents and offer a place to gather.
Beyond Campus
Athletic Facilities
New Athletic facilities are proposed on the Town-owned property behind the existing community center. These facilities will serve not only visitors and residents of St-Luc, but all residents and visitors of Arnaudville. There is also ample space for a future expansion of the community center to provide more classroom or meeting spaces for both St-Luc and the broader community. An indoor sport court gym along with a tennis or basketball court and a padel court can also be incorporated with more parking towards Guidroz Street.
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Pedestrian Connections
Because the St-Luc program is based on integration with community assets the campus master plan sees it necessary to look beyond the campus property lines. The mappings of these community assets and potential collaborators reveals the need for developing more pedestrian pathways in the form of midblock pedestrian allées, more shaded sidewalks and even the addition of a pedestrian bridge across Bayou Fusilier.
Existing Facilities
Existing pedestrian facilities (sidewalks) are limited in Arnaudville
Proposed Facilities
Proposed pedestrian facilities include pedestrian and bicyclist paths through the cemetery and a pedestrian bridge that connects both sides of Bayou Fuselier.
Reduced Walk Times
A connection through the neighboring cemetery reduces walk times to the kayak launch from 16 minutes to 11 minutes. This reduction of 5 minutes includes the town core.
A connection through the neighboring United States Post Office property reduces walk times to the Arnaudville baseball fields from 12 minutes to 9 minutes.
A pedestrian walk along West Railroad Avenue and a pedestrian bridge over Bayou Fuselier reduces walk times to NuNu’s from 23 minutes to 15 minutes.
The Future of Saint-Luc
The Saint-Luc campus will be an ideal place for continuing its offerings of French immersion experiences, educational classes, business meetings, and cultural exchanges.
If you want to help establish the Saint-Luc French Immersion and Cultural Campus, click below to donate or get involved.