by: Jessica Sheridan Assoc. AIA LEED AP
The Make It Right Foundation has launched a project to fund 150 homes in the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. The brainchild of architecture enthusiast Brad Pitt, a core team of experts including William McDonough + Partners, Cherokee Gives Back Foundation, Graft architecture, and Trevor Neilson and Nina Killeen, worked in tandem with local nonprofit organizations to select 14 firms specializing in innovation and ecologically responsible design.
Designs by KieranTimberlake Associates (2008 AIA Architecture Firm Award recipient), Morphosis, Adjaye Architects, MVRDV, and Shigeru Ban Architects, along with other local, national, and internationally renowned firms, will design homes that “encourage both the evolution of aesthetic distinctiveness and the conscientious awareness of natural surroundings,” according to the website. Firms were given a typology, such as the Shotgun, Camelback, and Creole Cottage, along with general guidelines outlined by the core team emphasizing safety, affordability, sustainability, and high design quality. All of the designs can be viewed online.
What is unique about donating to the cause is that it is possible to donate a whole house or parts of a house, in addition to making monetary contributions. So if you are still looking for holiday gifts, consider donating a house ($150,000), LEED certification fees ($2,500), a tankless water heater ($1,500), energy efficient lighting ($500), a tree ($200), a programmable thermostat ($100), low VOC paint ($25), or a compact fluorescent bulb ($5) in your or your loved one’s name.