There have been many publications on the Make It Right foundation and what

they are doing in the Lower Ninth Ward, but this is a fresh look on not only the

good, but the bad and the ugly of the rebuilding in the Lower Ninth Ward.

Starting off as a swamp infill with immigrants and freed African Americans making up the

population, the Lower Ninth Ward has become a strong close-knit community facing serious

problems since the levee breech during Hurricane Katrina. As the weeks after Katrina passed,

little to no rebuilding has taken place in the Lower Ninth Ward. Brad Pitt established his Make It

Right Foundation to start building safe, affordable, sustainable, and high design quality homes.

His goal was to build 150 houses for residents who lost their homes in the flooding after Katrina.

Brad Pitt knew that finding popular architects to make avant-garde “green” homes would gain

media exposure, but he did not fully consider the needs of the residents in a sense of rebuilding

the community as a complete entity.

The Good. While few people can say they are a part of an organization that designs homes

allowing owners to only pay five dollars a month for electricity, Brad Pitt and his team of

talented architects from around the world can say that. This group is doing great things for the

residents and the area by providing housing, raising awareness on green building, and being part

of the rebuilding efforts, while so many other groups—even political—have not made this move.

The Make It Right Organization is only one of few groups putting forth the effort to attempt to

bring back this area of New Orleans. Make It Right has turned a lower-class neighborhood into

an outdoor museum of “high class” architecture by architects such as Graft, Pugh + Scarpa,

Shigeru Ban, and, in the future, Frank Gehry. Not only are these homes unique pieces of

architecture for this community, they are also built out of sustainable materials and based on the
Cradle to Cradle concept popularized by architect William McDonough. These smart homes,

affixed with solar panels and geothermal energy to provide heat, allow the homeowners to save

money on energy and maintain an electrical bill under ten dollars a month.

The Bad. While the waters rose in August 2005, the possibilities for livable and affordable

housing began to shrink. Even though the Make It Right Organization may describe their homes

as affordable, the homes built thus far have not come under the $150,000 budget. With the

economy of scale, costs may eventually get to the estimated price range, but this price may still

seem out of touch for most residents in the Lower Ninth Ward. Also, the infrastructure of the

community is based on small companies, such as the mom and pop stores, barber shops, and

grocery stores. The area lacks the social fabric that seems to bring a community together. As a

result, the new homes by the Make It Right Organization seem disconnected. The two streets that

the homes are built upon have the essence of an experimental housing sub-division rather than

the community infrastructure it needs. If this organization truly wants to make things right and

rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward, time and effort need to be put towards the significant backbone

of this unique community. Although, the ideas of building may appear green, one can question

the sustainability aspect of these materials and forms. For example, will the TimberSIL® Wood

Products, an example of the Cradle to Cradle products, outlast the native cypress wood from a

sustainable point of view? Since the group of thirteen architects admittedly decided to not do a

reworked shotgun, or any replications of the form, one can assume they did not use the

vernacular typology as a sustainable guide for building. It seems the homes through the Make It

Right Organization are educating the residents of building with green materials, but they may be

missing out on a great opportunity to educate the residents on the historic materials and
vernacular typology in relationship to how they worked together to create a working machine.

For instance, the materials that were used were often local materials that were high in quality

and, therefore, rarely needed replacing. The buildings were designed for cross ventilation and

used less air conditioning. These elements make up the characteristic of the homes in the area,

not solar panels and contemporary lines.

The Ugly. While there are great things happening when people have a place to call home, there

still may be criticisms to what is being built. The unfortunate problem is the lack of organization

and assistance from the local and state government. While the land is privately owned, the

government should have established a plan for rebuilding. By proposing a plan that promotes

action from the government, there would have been guidelines for raising homes, what types of

homes could be built, and what materials would have been best. Without this assistance,

homeowners are lost and could end up with homes they possessed pre-Katrina, which failed

miserably. While some of the homes built through Make It Right address the issues, such as

raised homes and safety hatches in the attic, they miss the mark on giving the residents what they

need. According to an article written for New Orleans Voice For Peace website regarding

rebuilding the Lower Ninth Ward, the community has been trying to rebuild economically and

socially. The reality of the situation is addressed in the article, describing the cry for the

necessities to live houses, money, and food. Problems such as lack of grocery stores and jobs

should be addressed while rebuilding the Lower Ninth Ward. How do you rebuild a community

that has nothing? Is the answer forcing over-the-top architecture upon the residents because they

have no other options?

Therefore, the extra time and money spent on the technological upgrades for great pieces of

architecture can be used for the daily needs and well-being of the residents. Do they need

architecture out of their league? Do they need a grocery store? Do they need solar panels? Do

they need healthcare facilities? The point is rebuilding the Lower Ninth Ward is not just about

experimenting with homes and lives of people, but rebuilding infrastructure that makes up a

community like grocery stores, hospitals, and small businesses. While the issues with rebuilding

the Lower Ninth Ward arise, looking to historic examples may shed some light on some of the

issues we are facing. Stuttgart housing exhibition in Germany had the following intentions:

exploration of materials and smart technology that would lead to lower building and operational

costs, and improve the quality of living overall. While there are similarities among the Stuttgart

and Make It Right, such as concepts of building avant-garde housing and both being rejected by

traditionalists, the city of Stuttgart funded the housing exhibit while the residents of the Lower

Ninth Ward are paying for the architecture that seems to be out of the comfort zone of the

traditional community. Will the Make It Right community become the next Stuttgart?

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Nicole Reed is a native to the New Orleans metropolitan area and a graduate student in the

Architecture program at Louisiana State University.