26 February 2008
Hollywood Helping Rebuild New Orleans with "Green" Architecture
Actor Brad Pitt helps build 150 new homes in city’s Lower Ninth Ward
Washington -- When the levees broke after Hurricane Katrina, no New Orleans neighborhood suffered more than the Lower Ninth Ward, where floodwaters rose to nearly 30 feet and left houses shifted off their foundations, boats in living rooms and refrigerators on rooftops. For a community that had enjoyed the highest rate of home ownership among New Orleans neighborhoods, the loss was nearly impossible to grasp.
Help arrived in the unlikely figure of actor Brad Pitt, who answered the challenge of rebuilding the Lower Ninth with new, “green” architecture, materials and technology and a plan to raise money to subsidize construction of 150 new homes at about $150,000 each. When construction begins in a few weeks on the first five houses, the new Lower Ninth will be on its way to becoming one of the largest “green” neighborhoods in the nation.
Pitt’s first visit to the Lower Ninth after the storm left him stunned by the blocks of destroyed homes and personal possessions strewn over yards and streets. Government officials expressed doubt that this once-vibrant community could or should be rebuilt, given its vulnerability to flooding, but Pitt had a different view. The Lower Ninth, home of Fats Domino and Mahalia Jackson, enriched New Orleans’ music and culture. Without the Lower Ninth, New Orleans was not the place Pitt had come to love.
The actor founded a nonprofit organization, Make It Right, and met with community groups and former residents to discuss obstacles to rebuilding. Residents expressed concerns about climate change leading to more and stronger hurricanes. Would money and time spent rebuilding be washed away again? Could the homes be designed to resist floods? Others cited rising energy and maintenance costs. Why rebuild if a family could not afford to operate and maintain their home?
DESIGNING ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY HOUSES
Energized by the challenge, Pitt asked the environmental group Global Green USA to set up a competition among architectural firms to offer flood-resistant, energy-efficient ideas for rebuilding. Designs from 13 firms were offered to residents as potential house plans. William McDonough + Partners, an internationally recognized leader in green architecture, used its “Cradle to Cradle” philosophy to guide design and materials selection. That philosophy states construction should take from nature and return to nature without creating toxic, nonrenewable materials in the process.
One of the firms chosen for the project, Philadelphia-based KieranTimberlake Associates LLP, focused on durable buildings. “Our firm was asked to design a 1,000 square foot home [93 square meters], that could withstand flood conditions, that means it had to be raised five to eight feet [1.5 to 2.4 meters] off the ground,” said Richard L. Maimon, senior associate at KieranTimberlake and the firm’s project manager for Make It Right.
“[O]ne of our goals was to maximize natural light, yet screen solar [heat] gain,” Maimon said. “So the south side of the house has, literally, a screen that is planted with local vines.” The vines will keep the indoors cooler; provide privacy from the adjacent house, highlight New Orleans’ garden tradition and also reduce electrical use, a design requirement for all Make It Right homes.
“Reducing electrical use in New Orleans means addressing the amount of air conditioning needed,” Maimon said. “So we also designed higher ceilings, cross ventilation, and exhaust fans on the roof.” These features should result in a 10 to 20 percent reduction in solar heat, and a corresponding reduction in electrical demand, he said.
An estimated one-fourth of household energy is used to heat water, according to Maimon. “A solar water heater reduces the cost of energy for the homeowner and passive systems do not require major technology, so they are inexpensive to purchase and maintain,” he said. Passive systems use an insulated water tank coated with a heat-absorbent material. In New Orleans, where the temperature seldom drops to freezing, a passive system for as little as $2,000 for a 40-gallon (150-liter) hot water tank can be effective.
Most home designs include a rainwater-collection system. The untreated “gray water” can be used in flushing toilets, washing clothes and watering yards while the city’s water system provides drinking water. An 11,350 liter (3,000-gallon) tank -- a storage capacity equal to a typical month’s rainfall in New Orleans – would collect water for the home. “We expect this will cut water and sewer bills in half,” Maimon said.
PROJECT ATTRACTS HOLLYWOOD SUPPORT
Make It Right already has raised the money to build 78 houses. Talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres has raised more than $900,000 for the project through her television show. Other contributors from the entertainment industry include Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Martin Sheen, Barbara Streisand and Jimmy Buffett. Major funding also has come from clothing designer Donna Karan, aluminum manufacturer Alcoa Inc. and the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.
The project appeals to many small contributors who want to “do something” to promote renewable energy and help those devastated by Katrina. Donors can earmark their contribution to pay for home systems, such as solar water heaters, and achieve both goals.
Residents chosen to participate are not given houses, but instead are steered through selecting a home design, securing a mortgage and grants and achieving home ownership. Donations to Make It Right provide “gap” financing, to cover the difference between the price of the house and what the prospective homeowner can pay. Five families have completed the entire process; three others have chosen their house designs.
Pitt remains ambitious, speaking now of moving beyond the first 150 homes. “There’s no reason to stop here,” he says, “the need is far greater.”
