__________________
Posted on 04/21/2006 1:50:27 PM PDT by Neville72
NEW YORK-- Brad Pitt called Thursday for people to submit proposals for an environmentally friendly design competition he is sponsoring to rebuild parts of New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
"Our goal is to kick off the rebuilding effort. It's certainly long overdue and I can only go from the reports that we get ... that it's behind, absolutely. People are frustrated," Pitt said by telephone from Namibia.
"We could possibly build something that was better and took into account the historical traditions of the city and the voices of the people and turn this into some kind of good," the actor added.
Pitt, who is currently in the southern African country with actress Angelina Jolie and their children, is teaming up with Global Green USA, a national environmental organization, on the design project.
Pitt will lead a jury made up of architects and local leaders to choose designs by six finalists who will then work with local neighborhoods on more detailed proposals for environmentally sound buildings.
The open competition will focus on the Holy Cross neighborhood in the impoverished Lower 9th Ward. Designs will be submitted in June and the finalists chosen in July.
Pitt described his reaction to watching the scenes of the devastation caused by Katrina. "Truthfully, I dare say we witnessed, to our shame, the fact that there's a portion of our society that's being dismissed and that needs to be rectified and I thought that was a real casualty overall from the event."
Pitt said it was both the humanitarian and design elements of the project that interested him.
"Good architecture is not about building a pretty box and putting it on a piece of land. It's about the needs of the people inhabiting it. It's about the sun, wind, the temperature of the place, their well-being, their quality of life, they go hand in hand. Good architecture cannot exist truthfully without good will," he said.
Pitt said he has a huge interest in architecture.
"I am a bit of a junkie. It's inexplicable really. I believe we creatures are very susceptible to our surroundings. They can actually improve our mode of life and I personally am very affected ... when I walk through an intelligent building. It inspires me," said Pitt. "To me it's like walking through a piece of art and, coupling that now with the green movement of the smarter architecture -- of the healthier buildings with great design -- is a very exciting prospect to me."
Matt Petersen, president of Global Green USA, said that Pitt had "really educated himself not just on architecture, but green design as well. We'll probably have a vice-chair as well on the jury to help Brad. There will be a lot of experienced people on there as well as Brad."
The impetus for the competition stems from both a desire to help rebuild the devastated city, and to ensure that at least some of the reconstruction occurs in an environmentally-aware manner that reflect a vision of New Orleans in the future.
"As the rebuilding process in New Orleans begins in earnest we want to ensure that the designs and construction embrace principles of sustainable design and green building," Petersen said.
"What we're doing can help provide a spark for the rebuilding of New Orleans and to do it differently. If we build the right buildings now, we're not going to have to tear them down. They will be more disaster resistant," he added.
Anyone can pre-register from today for the competition although final details on the jury and the brief will not be released until mid-May. The finalist presentation and jury review will take place before the first anniversary of Katrina on Aug. 29.
Global Green, the US arm of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's Green Cross International, is providing technical assistance in green standards for 10,000 buildings in New Orleans. The standards include energy efficiency, improved indoor air quality, clean energy sources and healthy building materials.
Pitt declined to answer questions about the upcoming birth of his biological child with Jolie. "Absolutely not," he laughed.
There is widespread speculation that Jolie intends to give birth in Namibia and that the couple plan to marry there.
Pitt would only say that he had a warm welcome there.
Also Online
Global Green USA "Namibia's just a country we're very fond of. It's a beautiful land and hospitable people and a place that we want to be for the time being," he said.
Brad Pitt may have a face that stops millions of women in their tracks - but army tanks in the Mideast? The Hollywood star hopes so.
He and some of the biggest names in showbiz - including sexy wife Jennifer Aniston, actor-director Danny De Vito and wife Rhea Perlman, Ed Norton, and "Seinfeld" star Jason Alexander - have joined forces to promote the creation of a peace pact designed by "ordinary folk" from both sides of the Mideast conflict. "The past few years of conflict mean that yet another generation of Israelis and Palestinians will grow up in hatred," Pitt and Aniston said in a joint statement. "We cannot allow that to happen." The effort, dubbed "One Voice," revolves around a yet-to-be-formulated unofficial referendum on which Israelis and Palestinians alike would be asked to vote early next year.
Gosh, I wonder if those Brazilian mahogany floors were cut from the endangered rain forest he is keen on saving.
So what? The money is real. You never donated to charity and took the tax deduction?
After the divorce, Aniston said she never really liked the house and the way Pitt had it designed. Ya THINK the breakup of the marriage was just Pitt's fault?
Does my so called rant 'expose' a degree of disgust and animosity on my part toward the culture of Hollywood in general and Pitt specifically... Yes! Given the record, I'd say skepticism and distrust of their motives is a healthy reaction to any appearance. My first question would be what are thier ultimate goals. Because he may think that good will alone makes for great architecture, but it also can be the beginning of a tragedy, as Nathan R's post so eloquently reveals.
Brad wasn't smart enough to put the plug in the boat.
For me it would hard to fall asleep at night knowing this dimwit designed or build my house.
A legion in his own mind !
I think your design (post #41) should win. Natural air conditioning. No lead based paints on siding. On stilts to prevent flooding. Rescue craft and dock worked nicely into the design. Lots of really interesting stuff hanging all over the place. Shrunken heads? Plants clearly elevated to prevent drowning in floods. No energy wasting electricity in evidence. No gas guzzling car. Really nice pirate ship coming in to view from left. Should help looters in future disasters. Too many more details to list. You win. Brad Pitt (or is it Sean Penn?) has offered to build 10,000 of these. He is sending a check for $10 million to fully fund the project. He and Angie will be living in 100 of them, which will be spliced together to form their mansion.
Her bad reviews even made the pages of my local "Cow Town Gazette." Couldn't happen to a nicer airhead. :)
I am under siege right now, bar-b-queing on the patio.
I hope they make provisions for a Fight Club.
"I am under siege right now, bar-b-queing on the patio."
What's cookin'?
LOL...
What we witnessed was a population of people who had been conditioned to be dependent on the City, State and Federal governments for their welfare. When those governmental bodies are no longer functioning, those people are left without any idea of what to do for themselves. When you add a flood to that mix, they are totally defenseless. It wasn't that they were dismissed; the City did provide a place for those who couldn't get out of the city a place to go; the Superdome. Unfortunately, there were thousands who COULD have gotten out of the city who didn't bother, so they overwhelmed the Superdome and made life a living hell for everyone there.
In addition, people who also didn't leave town made their way to the Convention Center, which the City did NOT fit out for evacuees, and those people sat there for three days with NO water or food, if they didn't bring supplies for themselves. Most didn't because they just assusmed that there would be supplies for them, provided by the city. That's the problem with people being conditioned to expect to be taken care of by govermental agencies; they don't know when those agencies will not be able to do so. When those basic needs are not met, the fragile web of society breaks down and you get what we saw during the week after Katrina in New Orleans.
Contrast the situation in New Orleans with that on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, and you can see the difference in the attitudes and actions of the people directly affected. The folks on the Gulf Coast knew they'd be responsible for themselves, and for the most part, were prepared.
Marinated deer tenderloin on the grill. Big pan of fried potatoes w/bacon and onion. Baked beans. Brocolli slaw.
Thank you for this post. I hadn't heard of this project or known of its history, and I've just now spent some time reading articles about it.
Really incredible story. Thanks for educating me! Guess I'm just too young (born in 1969) to have known about it.
Wow. Like the Titanic--the unsinkable ship--the perfect housing project.
Pitt used to think that way himself until he hooked
up with the "world's saviour".
Your analysis is very accurate. Also contrast the results in New Orleans with western Louisiana/eastern Texas in the wake of Hurricane Rita. Massive flooding and devastation with very, very few deaths and zero whining afterwards.
He's a man of letters. Unfortunately, he received them in journalism. His becoming an actor was probably the best thing for society.
Those were designed to be part of the Urban Planning ideas of the 60's. They were supposed to provide nice clean housing for the poorest inhabitants of Chicago and New Orleans. Of course, the people who planned this never asked the people who would have to live there what THEY thought about the place. The urban planners knew best, and had the best 'interests' of the poor in mind. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of these buildings didn't have any inclination to take care of these properties because they didn't own them. They became prisons for the people living there who didn't want to be involved in drugs or gangs, but were continually in danger from folks involved in both.
Katrina wiped out that cesspool, and unless there is some sort of 'ownership' plan for the families who return to NO in formerly government owned housing, we'll just see a return to what was there before.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.