By now, many have heard of the disastrous Hurricane Katrina that ran through the streets of New Orleans. Its destroyed most of everything in its path and took the lives of many with it. Many people who lived in family homes their entire lives were forced to evacuate because of the storm. After coming back they realized that they had no possession of some of the homes that had been in their families for generations because of any legal documents that were destroyed or lost in the storm. For this reason Actor/Philanthropist Brad Pitt teamed up with Global Green USA to help create more structured homes for the victims, and speed up the rebuilding process. The homes have a more contemporary feel to them and definitely can be noticeable for their interesting style of architecture. Upon driving around and viewing the homes, I felt uncomfortable just seeing some of the design patterns, though they were as colorful as many of the homes seen in Louisiana, there was a lack of modesty in the homes. That kind of feeling that you get when your arrive home seemed absent in my opinion. There was not much remaining of the homes, and the homes definitely represent a modernism that could greatly benefit the residents for future natural disasters, however I feel that some parts of the home, really force its inhabitants to completely redefine their definition of a home. The steep stairs is one thing that I found stuck out, as well as the shape of the buildings. Once again, these are only my thoughts on what I saw but it was an eye opening experience to just a view a part of a city that has changed so drastically.
Recently some of those homes have had problems with rotting wood. This is a fascinating issue–whether these houses are an innovative way to improve lives and restore community, or an intrusion.
I heard about that! It’s such a shame to have someone be able to help out and still not have it be enough. I don’t want to question Brad Pitt’s efforts, but I feel bad that of all problems the new homes were facing, it had to do with rotting wood. It makes me wonder what would have happened if another disaster had struck how they would have managed.