/ 4 December 2007

Brad Pitt unveils plans for New Orleans homes

Brad Pitt launched his own regeneration project for Katrina-ravaged New Orleans on Monday, unveiling designs for a range of eco-friendly and flood-proof homes.

Pitt, who had ambitions to be an architect if he had not taken up acting, commissioned 13 architectural firms to produce houses that would incorporate solar power and other environmentally-sound designs.

He has put up $5-million of his own money and launched a website asking corporations, church groups and others for $150 000 donations for his adopt-a-house project, as well as smaller public donations — from $5 — to sponsor eco-friendly items such as low-cost light bulbs, low-flush toilets and solar panels.

Former residents of the Lower Ninth ward will be expected to contribute to 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 in 1994. He has made many trips back and earlier this year 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 at a press conference his plan for 150 new houses to be completed by next year. He said there was no reason why it could not expand into 10 000 or even 100 000.

He intends to stay in the city for a few months to oversee the project. ”I’ve always had a fondness for this place — it’s like no other,” he said.

He is pushing ahead in spite of resistance from city, state and the federal government, 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 houses scattered about the Lower Ninth. Showing reporters round, 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 1 000 light bulbs that he stressed would be solar-powered.

He said on Monday the priorities for the architects were safety, sustainability, affordability and aesthetics. They were asked to design homes that were at least 1,5m off the ground, with a porch and three bedrooms, at a cost of about $150 000.

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 movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But he told a television interviewer on Monday 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.” – Guardian Unlimited Â