New green homes are being built in the 9th Ward of New Orleans that have solar panels, energy efficient features, and stilts. The homes will be constructed high enough off the ground to clear floodwaters. Architects from the U.S and around the world designed the houses, so they greatly vary. More info and photos of houses in mid-construction below the jump...
The homes are being built by the Make It Right Foundation, which was founded by Brad Pitt in response to Hurricane Katrina. So far, 85 of the 150 target houses have been funded. We love the look of the quirky home designs and their green features.
See more new green home designs and photos of construction in New Orleans' 9th Ward by visiting the Make it Right Foundation website.
Jonya & Brad's Modern A–Frame 
Quick Cleaning Tip: Keep Baseboards Cleaner With Fabric Softner
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Profile Chair by Ma...
Mac and Cheese: The Secret to Making It Rich and Creamy
Summer Recipe: No-Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake
Comments (5)
These will be great if they are offered at affordable prices. Some other programs have offered new homes in devastated wards in the $150K range, only to find that many people displaced by Katrina can in no way afford $150K houses. I imagine some assistance with mortgages will also be necessary if these programs are to truly benefit the needy.
Oh how great, why build several houses for people in need when you can just build one! There are SO many people in New Orleans that need housing assistance, and the fact that they're building state of the art houses in an area SURE to be flooded again in an abandoned neighborhood in the worst possible part of town is ridiculous. Make it Right? Really? What are you trying to make right, nature??? Brad Pitt, you're an idiot.
They're building a bunch and they look great. I was just down there and there are people living in some already. They're raised so they don't flood and are energy efficient so the people can afford to keep them up. I have some photos of the 9th ward, including an occupied home on my flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25765448@N05/sets/72157608663979547/
Double edged sword, this project. On the one hand, Make It Right and Global Green, the two organizations building the houses, are making a real effort to provide very small "mini-mortgages" to the homeowners they're offering houses to. Which is great. A friend of mine who's been living in a FEMA trailer in the Lower 9th is getting one for virtually nothing. But the houses are unnecessarily expensive to build in the first place, and more money has been spent on fundraising then most of the project is going to cost. see this for a sense of what their idea of "fundraising" : http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20163895,00.html
Additionally, the architectural options the homeowners have to choose from are limited and resemble none of the historical (circa 1850 to 1900) homes in the "Historical Lower Ninth Ward" because the designs were chosen in an architecture contest of young, mostly modernist architects. So no matter what happens, this project can't hope to recapture the je ne se quoi atmosphere of the neighborhood.
Some people are never satisfied.
What are you complainers and nit pickers actually DOING for anyone?
I mean anyone at all outside of your immediate family? Do you volunteer?
Are you building loads of houses?