The ground is breaking in New Orleans, and it’s giving the Lower 9th Ward a reason to celebrate. Thanks to the effort and celebrity backing of a familiar face on Inhabitat, Brad Pitt’s Make it Right (MIR) initiative recently began construction on several homes! Contributing to the rebuilding effort following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Make it Right campaign set a goal of constructing 150 new residences designed by 13 different local, national and international architectural firms. While each design is unique, all the homes are employing sustainable building strategies while taking into consideration the ease of fabrication through replication. Each home is designed to be built within a budget of $150,000, which has been collected primarily by donations pledged through their website.
Make it Right is committed to working hand-in-hand with New Orleans communities to help rebuild their neighborhoods. The organization convenes with local groups to select residents in need who then select their future home from one of 13 designs. Of these designs, three houses have begun construction thus far, including Inhabitat regulars Kieran Timberlake Associates ’ Garden Prototype, a house by international architecture firm GRAFT, and Concordia Architect’s Lagnaippe House.
Featured above, Kieran Timberlake’s Garden Prototype stick-built home is somewhat reminiscent of their acclaimed Loblolly House. A flexible system allows for a variety of customization opportunities for potential owners while opening-up the possibility of off-site prefabricated and assembled systems.
Tip via Allan Hough
7 Responses to “Brad Pitt Breaks Ground in Louisiana with ‘Make It Right’”
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The Graft House is staggeringly ugly.
Make it Wrong?
Make it Ugly?
Make it a trailer on stilts?
Wow….
The model for the Lagnaippe House showed promise, but the built form is…. Well… It looks like the roof is falling in. Hurricane Style?
The Graft House looks like part of it got torn off in a hurricane… Not Good.
And the Garden Prototype… I’ve seen better looking double-wides… (seriously)…
All for a bargain $150K each ?
This is embarrassing.
I don’t understand why the houses have to look so strange. I’m sure houses can be sustainable and still look normal. They don’t fit in with the Lower Ninth at all, though I guess after they build 150 of them, it will be the houses already in the L9 that will look out of place. Great concept but a little more intense than necessary.
That house seems to be wonderful. I imagine that having ventilation until underneath, the temperature sets average of that residence it is always very interesting, although in places with elevated averages of temperature.
Lobodomar – http://poemasdeandreluis.blogspot.com/
Have some of you BEEN to New Orleans? The Garden House is very typical of a shotgun-style house found throughout the city.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL
My mother is Ms. Melba, of 1744 Tennessee Street, lower 9th ward, and she lost more than just a home in 2005. Both her mother and father passed away just before this unreal occurrence happened. And she never had the chance to grieve. This is the first time I’ve seen her smile in a long time. I thank Mr. Pitt and his family and the Make it Right foundation for this opportunity for a new start at life.
I want to say “thank you” to all who have done anything and everything that God has put on your hearts to do, for my family. When I see the new homes, I want to cry tears of joy, but also sadness since it feels as though all pieces of me have gone. Thanks to this project for putting my 9th ward family back together.
Love Always
The Vann Family (Barbara, Jimmy, Cheyenne, and Yurrianne) of North Carolina
C/O Mr. and Ms. Barnes, 1744 Tennessee St.
Brad Pitt, members of the Make It Right Foundation, and those associated with the projects should be commended for all they’re doing in rebuilding New Orleans. As an architect who grew up in and around New Orleans (1964 to 1986, LSU graduate 1984), I do have two issues with several of the designs offered in the “Make It Right” project:
1.) New Orleans boasts a variety of architectural types and styles, many as unique as the city itself. I feel many of the designs offered, missed the mark, not reflecting the character of the city’s architecture. Rather than intermingling with the neighborhoods, many of these homes scream “look at me”. We can still design sustainable and affordable homes without losing sight of an area’s architectural heritage.
2.) More importantly, and what I feel is the primary issue, is how to avoid having homes flood the next time a levee fails*. New houses built within the New Orleans area levee systems should be required to have the floor system, for the lowest habitable floor, built above the potential flood waters resulting from a levee breach.
* The saturated levees failed as a result of a category three hurricane. It’s inevitable that stronger hurricanes will cross the path of New Orleans and test the weakest links of the levee systems. Katrina should serve as a wakeup call. To think that it could not happen again is denial. The citizens of New Orleans should not rely solely on the levee systems for the protection of their homes. This should be evident when the mindset of many officials is “Acceptable risks must be weighed” when determining the level of levee protection needed versus funds to be spent on upgrading the levee systems.
During my last visit to tour the devastation in New Orleans, I saw new homes being built that were elevated around 4 to 6 feet above grade. The irony was they were being built next door to abandoned houses with flood water stains at 8 to 10 feet above grade. I saw many homes with floodwater stains almost at the eaves. In most cases, 5 feet above grade is not enough. You can’t continue to build the same way and expect different results.
I did find a good solution during this visit. It was a newly constructed house, elevated on pilings with the lowest habitable floor system located above the flood water elevation. The ground floor was open to the sides and rear. The ground floor front elevation had a well detailed false façade, constructed of flood resistant materials that provided privacy and an attractive curb appeal. This design provided a good solution to the potential floodwaters and blended in well with the neighborhood.
I support the effort to design with the environment in mind, but in New Orleans floodwaters should be the primary environmental concern. I know this is an expensive proposition, but you can pay now or you can pay later. The problem with later is, it will cost a lot more than just money. More importantly, it will cost lives.
Nicholas Roseland, AIA
Architect Roseland, P.L.
Vero Beach, FL