New homes for New Orleans
Safety is paramount on the levee
Nowhere is in more desperate need of a replacement housing solution than New Orleans where Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 with such devastation. Many thousands of people are still awaiting new homes in their native city but, hopefully, the problem has come a step closer to being resolved?
A few months ago Brad Pitt and residents of the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans launched “Make it Right”, a national multi-million dollar fundraising campaign to help at least one part of the city recover. The actor made the announcement from the site of the “Make It Right” project’s first initiative -150 affordable and sustainable homes that are being built in partnership with US multi-millionaire, Steve Bing.
The new homes’ architects who unveiled their groundbreaking designs for the community joined Pitt and his fellow campaigners.
The architects – from the USA and around the world – include Adjaye Associates, Billes Architecture, BNIM Architects, Concordia, Constructs LLC, Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, Graft, KieranTimberlake Associates, Morphosis, MVRDV, Pugh + Scarpa Architecture, Shigeru Ban Architects, and Trahan Architects.
As New Orleans is such a special city with unique traditions and lifestyles the new home designs not only have to embrace an exceptional climate and social quirks but also take advantage of this major urban revival to introduce affordable, sustainable living in a very big way. But at the same time they don’t ignore the fact that catastrophe could strike again in a region that frequently takes a heavy buffeting from one or another hurricane.
FOUR SOLUTIONS
In this brief editorial we outline just four of the architectural solutions that are rising from New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward where some of the worst flooding and devastation took place.
The architects Pugh+Scarpa’s concept takes advantage of one of the most under-rated, but easily sourceable elements around – recycled wooden pallets. Their imperfect, rough-hewn texture aims to provide an exceptional patchwork wrapping for each home’s main structure. And, of course, wooden pallets are commercially available, cost effective and eco-friendly.
In the architects’ words, inside “this home breaks the prescriptive mold of the traditional home by creating public and private ‘zones’ in which private space is de-emphasised in favour of large, public living areas”. This is intended to “transform the way people live” from a reclusive, isolating layout towards a family-orientated, interactive space.
The home’s sustainability revolves around its orientation to control solar cooling and heat loads and to minimise its exposure to the prevailing winds. It’s specially shaped to induce natural ventilation and airflow distribution, while its high internal ceilings will encourage an “airy, spacious ambiance that’s less reliant on artificial lighting.”
IMPORTANT PORCHES
Porches always have been and always will be an essential ingredient of New Orleans homes. And the new dwellings will be no exception. BNIM’s 940sq ft, two-bedroom design suggestion is a modern interpretation of the “shotgun-style” of home that was common in the city with ample porches fostering neighbourly interaction.
Just like all of the new homes intended the city’s Lower 9th Ward, BNIM’s solution is sufficiently elevated to provide adequate protection from typical flooding events. Its structural insulated panels and mould-resistant walls maximise efficiency, minimise waste and respond to the local climate.
Its designed for easy of construction and energy efficiency as the roof structure will be ready to receive photovoltaic panels. A rainwater cistern and portable solar energy pack form part of ‘area of refuge” so that residents remain safe in the event of future flooding.
With significant tracts of its land below sea level Holland has a lot of experience to call on when it comes combating flooding. So it’s not surprising that the designs by Dutch architects MVRDV picked up on a lot of this knowledge.
ALL AFLOAT
For example the “floating house” concept was inspired by recent new housing developments in the Netherlands where the house is on top of a concrete barge that rises when there is flooding. “Piles” keep the house in position and the front porch forms a “garage” that takes the car with it when the water level rises.
Variations on this theme are the house on top of a lift ensuring that the entire dwelling is above the potential water level. Then there is the “bent house” which rises up at both ends creating a porches font and rear. Internally is created a “valley” of platforms with living and bedrooms whilst the very lowest level becomes a water storage facility.
The Graft house design is a “bridge between the past and present”. Once again the front porch is an important feature but beyond that there are two distinct shapes. The symmetrically pitched roof at the front represents the past and the angular flat roof shape signifies the present.
The construction uses only efficient, low-energy and healthy materials with hurricane-resistant low-E windows. The design takes advantage of passive and cross ventilation lessening the use of mechanical air conditioning or heating. Rainwater catchment systems are provided.
Each habitable room has an emergency access to the roof where there is a flat area called “the safe haven”.
Images show the MVRDV’s “bent house” which rises up at each; Pugh+Scarpa’s wooden pallet solution; Graft’s symmetrically pitched roof version; and BNIM’s more traditional version.
More information: www.makeitrightnola.org/