Brad Pitt's got his design on New Orleans
Brad Pitt's latest movie, "Moneyball," is officially kaput, but his New Orleans architecture project is rolling full speed ahead with the unveiling of 14 new designs for duplex houses.
The actor's Make It Right Foundation recently revealed the new designs that are part of multimillion-dollar initiative to help rebuild the city's Lower Ninth Ward, devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. The foundation has been working with architecture firms from around the world -- including such notable names as Gehry Partners (whose design is pictured at left), Morphosis and Elemental -- to design single family and duplex buildings.
The newly unveiled designs concern the duplex homes, intended for two or more families. The foundation originally offered only single-unit homes to residents of the Ninth Ward, but the foundation said demand prompted the addition of duplexes to its design catalog.
Pitt engaged 14 architecture firms from around the world to design homes that would incorporate such elements as solar power, outdoor recreation space and structural protection against floods. Groundbreaking for the duplex homes is expected to begin in mid-August. The duplexes will be part of the expected total 150 homes constructed by the foundation in the Lower Ninth Ward.
The firms contributing duplex designs are Atelier Hitoshi Abe, Bild Design, Billes, buildingstudio, BNIM, Constructs, Elemental, Gehry Partners, GRAFT, KAppe Architects, MVRDV, Pugh & Scarpa, Waggonner & Ball, and William McDonough and Partners.
Founded by Pitt, the Make It Right Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to build ecologically friendly and affordable housing for residents of the Lower Ninth Ward who were left homeless by Hurricane Katrina.
Click through for more architectural design illustrations...
A duplex design by the architecture firm Billes.
A duplex design by the firm William McDonough & Partners.
-- David Ng
Images used with permission from Make It Right Foundation.
How are older people and the disabled suppose to get up those stairs?
Posted by: Karen | July 07, 2009 at 06:58 AM
Karen:
The same way they did in their old houses, which also almost all had stairs. Build a ramp, I guess. Being elevated is a necessity. They are still better off negotiating stairs than winding up on top of their roofs.
Posted by: Pam | July 07, 2009 at 08:27 AM
Just want to say that all of our architects and designers at The House Designers think it is an incredible initiative by Brad Pitt and the Make It Right Foundation to help rebuild New Orleans by building and designing these duplex houses. We are also very involved with designing and building eco-friendly and affordable homes, which is why we have partnered with ENERGY STAR to offer an exclusive collection of green designs. All of our designs in this collection have been awarded the "Designed to Earn" credentials which means they meet the rigorous guidelines set by the U.S. EPA's ENERGY STAR® program.
Posted by: Christine | July 07, 2009 at 02:30 PM
Has a cost estimate for each of the duplex designs been included anywhere at the website?
Posted by: JW | July 12, 2009 at 06:32 AM
I just returned from New Orleans and toured the 9th district. Brad Pitt has my respect. I did not see any building or renovations by the federal government. Shame on the previous administration.
Posted by: myrna dreier | July 15, 2009 at 07:44 AM
Shame on the previous administration?? The current one isn't doing much either.
Posted by: Ray | July 15, 2009 at 02:28 PM
As a former New Orleans resident whose family still lives there, I'm really glad to see this project taking shape.
So many people in N.O. feel like they have been forgotten post-Katrina, so it is heartening to see that some have not forgotten them and are working to help rebuild.
Posted by: Bridget | July 22, 2009 at 04:37 AM