ACTOR Brad Pitt has launched his own regeneration project for hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans, unveiling designs for a range of eco-friendly and flood-proof homes.
Pitt commissioned 13 architectural firms to produce houses that would incorporate solar power and other environmentally sound designs.
He has put up $US5 million ($A5.7 million) of his own money and launched a website, www.makeitrightnola.org, asking corporations, church groups and others for $US150,000 donations for his adopt-a-house project, as well as smaller public donations.
Former residents of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans will be expected to contribute part of the cost of the new houses, with Make It Right making up the shortfall.
The actor fell in love with the city while filming Interview with the Vampire there in 1994. Earlier this year, he set up home in the city's French Quarter with Angelina Jolie and their children.
More than two years after the destruction of much of the city by hurricane Katrina, Pitt announced his plan for 150 new houses to be completed by next year. He said there was no reason why it could not expand to 10,000 or even 100,000.
Pitt is pushing ahead in spite of resistance from the city, state and the federal governments, with many officials and politicians wondering whether it is a good idea to rebuild at all in a flood-prone area.
The homes are to be built initially in the city's Lower Ninth Ward, one of the poorest — and mainly black — areas of the city. It was flattened by flooding and remains almost deserted.
To publicise his cause, Pitt had 150 huge pink Monopoly-shaped tents scattered about the Lower Ninth. He said the aim was to replace them with houses. The pink blocks, which he described as a work of art, are to be taken on a five-week tour, decorated with 1000 light bulbs that he stressed would be solar-powered.
He said yesterday the priorities for the architects were safety, sustainability, affordability and aesthetics. They were asked to design homes that are at least 1.5 metres off the ground, with a porch and three bedrooms, at a cost of about $US150,000.
One of the architects has designed a floating house instead of one on stilts, incorporating a lightweight concrete foundation held down by two pylons, which would rise with floodwaters.
Pitt, who is from Missouri, was in New Orleans earlier this year filming a new film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But he told a television interviewer yesterday that rebuilding the Lower Ninth was a bigger priority than his movie career. "Right now this is the focus, and we're going to see this thing through."
Pitt commissioned 13 architectural firms to produce houses that would incorporate solar power and other environmentally sound designs.
He has put up $US5 million ($A5.7 million) of his own money and launched a website, www.makeitrightnola.org, asking corporations, church groups and others for $US150,000 donations for his adopt-a-house project, as well as smaller public donations.
Former residents of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans will be expected to contribute part of the cost of the new houses, with Make It Right making up the shortfall.
The actor fell in love with the city while filming Interview with the Vampire there in 1994. Earlier this year, he set up home in the city's French Quarter with Angelina Jolie and their children.
More than two years after the destruction of much of the city by hurricane Katrina, Pitt announced his plan for 150 new houses to be completed by next year. He said there was no reason why it could not expand to 10,000 or even 100,000.
Pitt is pushing ahead in spite of resistance from the city, state and the federal governments, with many officials and politicians wondering whether it is a good idea to rebuild at all in a flood-prone area.
The homes are to be built initially in the city's Lower Ninth Ward, one of the poorest — and mainly black — areas of the city. It was flattened by flooding and remains almost deserted.
To publicise his cause, Pitt had 150 huge pink Monopoly-shaped tents scattered about the Lower Ninth. He said the aim was to replace them with houses. The pink blocks, which he described as a work of art, are to be taken on a five-week tour, decorated with 1000 light bulbs that he stressed would be solar-powered.
He said yesterday the priorities for the architects were safety, sustainability, affordability and aesthetics. They were asked to design homes that are at least 1.5 metres off the ground, with a porch and three bedrooms, at a cost of about $US150,000.
One of the architects has designed a floating house instead of one on stilts, incorporating a lightweight concrete foundation held down by two pylons, which would rise with floodwaters.
Pitt, who is from Missouri, was in New Orleans earlier this year filming a new film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But he told a television interviewer yesterday that rebuilding the Lower Ninth was a bigger priority than his movie career. "Right now this is the focus, and we're going to see this thing through."
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