Working on Making it Right

Nearly 5 years ago Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. We all remember the devastating aftermath of the storm. Pictures poured in of leveled houses, flooded streets and people displaced. New Orleans took a front seat in the media due to the devastating loss of life in the city. In the aftermath, as the country questioned the response of the government, non for profits poured into the city in an effort to lend a hand.

Make It Right, an organization started by actor and architect enthusiast Brad Pitt, found its beginnings as a response to the displaced individuals in New Orleans. Their goal was to rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward for the residents who once lived there and bring progress to the area.

Often times, when rebuilding is necessary, thoughts and ideas start going towards initial designs and what can be done to improve on them and make better choices this time around. MIR is no exception. Their commitment to the area was to provide 150 new energy efficient homes that would be price pointed for lower income families. In their initial findings they found that the previous style of housing did not take into account the unique landscape they had been built in. Not only is New Orleans below sea level, but the likelihood of being effected by hurricanes is quite high.The shotgun style housing that many people lived in previous to Hurricane Katrina did not have what was needed to withstand the storms.

So Make It Right, house by house, began to do what their name suggests and make this design flaw right. Three years later 40 houses have been built and sold to people, some previous members the neighborhood and some newcomers. The new homes have a much different feel than the original homes. The charm of the shotgun style home is replaced with the cool modern lines of the new construction. Fitted with metal roofs that won’t fly off during storms, and Kevlar hurricane fabric that snaps over windows, these houses are much more suited for the environment they were built in. They are also extremely environmentally friendly. While this does drive up the cost, MIR has kept to their commitment, eating the extra cost to make the homes available to the people who need them most.

While grateful for the new energy efficient homes, the community, still in need of a lot of work, is beginning to wonder how these new homes will fit into the character and feel of the area. The brightly painted, sharp-angled structures definitely stick out in the otherwise ornamented neighborhood. MIR hopes that these homes will be an inspiration to step into the future, to go forward away from the problems of the past.

Make It Right has definitely brought some great things to the area, even in the way of new construction techniques that can now be used by local workers, they have supported a community that needed much encouragement. That said, is it okay to determine for people how their future should look? How their neighborhood show work? And how much do the style of housing really determine how the people inside them will live? The leader of the Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association, Patricia Jones, says that while people assume this project is saving the Lower Ninth Ward, she insists that MIR is only a part of strategic decisions made by the community to move successfully into the future.

What are your thoughts? How much does architecture effect the surrounding environment in your neighborhood?