New Orleans Houses, Lower Ninth Ward
2008
Graftlab with Brad Pitt

Info from Graftlab Mar 2008:

Architects involved with charity Make It Right:

GRAFT
This firm was established in 1998 in Los Angeles, California by Lars Krückeberg and Wolfram Putz. The firm was joined by Thomas Willemeit in 2001 and opened an office in Berlin, Germany the same year. In 2005 Gregor Hoheisel, who had been partner in Los Angeles in 2000 to 2001, became Partner in GRAFT Beijing, which was founded the same year. In 2007 Alejandra Lillo became partner for Graft LA.
GRAFT is a full service architectural firm with the collective professional experience that encompasses a wide array of building types including Fine Arts, Educational, Institutional, Commercial and Residential facilities. The firm has won the Honor Award 2005 from the AIA in Los Angeles, the Contract World Award 2005 and 2004, the Hospitality Design Award 2005, along with numerous other international awards and prizes.

GRAFT was conceived as a Label for Architecture, Urban Planning, Exhibition Design, Music and the “Pursuit of Happiness”. Since the firm was established it has been commissioned to design and manage a wide range of projects in multiple disciplines and locations. With the core of the firm’s enterprises gravitating around the field of architecture and the built environment, GRAFT has always maintained an interest in crossing the boundaries between disciplines and “grafting” the creative potentials and methodologies of different realities. This is reflected in the firm’s expansion into the fields of music, car design, art installations, academic projects and “eventings” executed by their in house production department as well as in the variety of project locations throughout the globe.
“Architecture is a deliberate recreation of a new and special reality that grows from our response to life. It cannot be copied; it must be created.”

WILLIAM MCDONOUGH + PARTNERS /
MCDONOUGH BRAUNGART DESIGN CHEMISTRY
Executing a diverse array of projects around the world from studios in Charlottesville, Virginia, and San Francisco, California, William McDonough + Partners (WM+P) is a 46-person firm of architects, planners, and leaders in sustainable design. We practice a positive, principled design approach that draws inspiration from living systems and processes, and all of our designs integrate environmentally intelligent design strategies. Since its founding in 1981, WM+P has been engaged in expanding the industry’s concept of quality. Traditional measures of cost, performance, and aesthetics are incomplete; ecological intelligence and social equity are also critical measures of quality. The WM+P team works toward the goal of a delightfully diverse, safe, healthy and just world, with clean air, water, soil and power – economically, equitably, ecologically and elegantly enjoyed. The firm’s philosophy is rooted in Cradle to CradleSM thinking, as developed by William McDonough with Michael Braungart in Cradle to CradleSM: Remaking the Way We Make Things (North Point Press, 2002).
McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) is a product and process design consultancy applying the Cradle to CradleSM framework to redesign the way we make things. MBDC offers business consulting and education services, including product certification on sustainable product design.
Cradle to CradleSM thinking suggests that everything we create can contribute positively to society, the economy, and the environment. This is the next-generation goal we are working toward using today’s products and technologies. The William Mcdonough + Partners team, in conjunction with MBDC, is using Cradle to CradleSM thinking to guide the design and materials selection for the Make It Right homes in the Lower 9th Ward. (Cradle to CradleSM is a Service Mark of McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry)

American Architecture

Louisiana Buildings

TEAM BUILDING
What began as a collaboration between Brad Pitt’s selected design team for the Make It Right project (Graft and William McDonough + Partners), has expanded to include MIR Executive Architecture firm John Williams Architects, LLC. From this point, thirteen renowned architecture firms were assembled by the MIR design team, whose commission it is to refashion the final Make It Right community. When assembling the MIR architectural panel, Graft and William McDonough + Partners solicited the guidance of MIR Founder Brad Pitt, Reed Kroloff, and the Lower 9th Ward Community Coalition along with specific residents. The process began with over 50 architects who were selected based upon their exceptional reputations and a carefully considered list of criteria which are as follows:
- Prior interest or involvement in New Orleans, preferably post Katrina and/or Experience with disaster relief
- Familiarity and interest in sustainability
- Experience with residential and multi-family housing
- Proven to be skilled innovators on low budget projects
- Experience dealing with structures that have to successfully address water based or low lying environment(s)
- And, of course, deep respect for design quality

The final resolution of architecture firms were chosen with the intent in representing different perspectives and consequently were assembled in to three groupings: 1. Locals (from the New Orleans area) 2. National (from all over the United States of America) and 3. International (from all over the world). This wide range of design opinions and qualities was promoted with the desire to achieve a community of vitality and diversity
The obligation for this community to complement the spirit and people of the Lower Ninth Ward is clear. The MIR team is focused in the long term to help this community’s strength to become a catalyst for further growth not only locally but also globally, to serve as a model for rebuilding devastated communities around the world.



Local architects

BILLES ARCHITECTURE

Billes Architecture was established as a vehicle for Gerald W. Billes to carry out his vision of creating innovative built environments
that meet and surpass the expectations and needs of his clients. At Billes Architecture we strive to create environments – neighborhoods, communities, and individual buildings – that create a connection with those who are affected by them. The firm provides project development and architectural services to clients who seek innovative design in their projects, while supporting
and enhancing the existing neighborhoods and the lifestyles of those that use the completed structures and spaces.
One Client described the selection of our firm for their project with the following statement: “Billes Architecture was chosen because the firm is creative, budget conscious, and client specific”. These qualities can be seen in our firm philosophy and in our work.

CONCORDIA

Concordia was formed in 1983 to pursue participatory processes and integrative design practices. For more than 23 years our Concordia team has worked to develop a corporate social entrepreneurship dedicated to the principles of public planning
and architectural design. Our projects span a wide range of building types, from the Jackson Brewery Festival Marketplace,
Contemporary Arts Center and Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans, to the nationally acclaimed Henry Ford Learning Academy in Detroit, Michigan.
Concordia’s award winning work has appeared in a wide range of national publications, including Architectural Digest, Progressive
Architecture, Architecture, Interiors, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Research alliances have included the MIT Media Lab, Harvard University’s Project Zero, the University of New Mexico, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Thornburg Institute, Appalachian Education Lab and the West Ed Research Lab.

ESKEW+DUMEZ+RIPPLE

Eskew+Dumez+Ripple is a design-driven studio which produces diverse projects in architecture and planning by blending a signature collaborative process with professional talent, creative thinking and emerging technologies. Our commitment to enhance and protect both the cultural and natural environments of the communities we serve is evident in the beauty and technical craftsmanship of our designs and in the long-term sustainability of our projects.
Our firm views the creation of ecologically responsive design as a core value in our studio. We promote a design approach which acknowledges the impact of finite resources as a positive contributor in the creation of an ethical architecture. The tremendous
impact that buildings have on the natural environment and future generations compels us to design in a manner that conserves resources and mitigates man’s impact on the environment. Our approach to sustainable design goes beyond mere logistics and mechanical elements. We believe that the design itself should be uplifting to its users and inspire delight in the outside observer.
Based in New Orleans, we use the cultural and architectural heritage of our city as a platform for a practice of national range and recognition.

TRAHAN ARCHITECTS

The designs of Trahan Architects often involve a journey of discovery, meditation and action, evoking an almost involuntary emotional response when first encountered. An international award-winning design firm, Trahan dismisses preconceived formulas
or designs, approaching each project with special consideration and attention to the unique needs of the client and with a clear focus on the future. The recipient of three national AIA honor awards in five years and numerous national and regional awards, Trahan Architects was one of three U.S. firms honored with The Architectural Review “Emerging Architecture”
Award and one of five named to Wallpaper Magazine’s “World’s 101 Best Emerging Architects” list for 2007. Through the unique use of natural materials and light, Trahan designs provide a unique experience that enhances a building’s true purpose and grows richer with time. Tending closely to details of programming, master planning, design development and technology implementation, Trahan projects follow a method that accurately reflects the philosophy of individuality that the firm embodies. Most notable among Trahan designs are two internationally honored church designs and a university learning center that has been published and exhibited extensively as a model for academic design. Trahan Architects also designed master plans that were awarded first prize in international design competitions in Beijing, China for a Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Industry Base and a Medical Research facility.

JOHN C. WILLIAMS ARCHITECTS LLC (Executive Architect)

John C. Williams Architects LLC is a dynamic firm based in New Orleans, Louisiana that provides architectural, planning and interior design services. The firm’s success is founded on its ability to create exceptional designs within strong programmatic elements (design, site, financial, time criteria). Williams Architects has earned the reputation for consistently producing thorough
construction documents and completing jobs on time and within budget.
Williams Architects is a firm composed of twenty people who provide architectural, planning and interior design services. Their clients include the cities of New Orleans and Mobile, institutions such as Tulane University, LSU, Spring Hill College and the New Orleans Public School System; businesses such as the Whitney National Bank, the Ritz Hotels, Churchill Downs and restaurants for the Brennan family, Chefs K-Paul and Emeril Lagasse. Their work varies in scale from a gate in the French Quarter to an elementary school in Violet, LA to multi-acre sites along the Mississippi River.
With a strong commitment for excellence within the community, persistence for excellence is a goal that is evident in all of the firm’s work. Whether a job is new construction or renovation/restoration, Williams is a leader in using sustainable design – taking it to a new level in the Gulf Coast region.

National architects

BNIM Architects

For BNIM Architects, sustainability is a way of life; design is an act of optimism and hope for the future. With these philosophies in mind, BNIM continues to build on 37 years of history, design innovation, and environmental stewardship. BNIM is a pioneer in the design of healthy buildings and communities, having helped to develop the USGBC LEED® rating system and Living Building standards for restorative design.
We are committed to an inclusive design process, one which values close collaboration with all stakeholders, from end users, to local agencies to neighborhood groups. We excel at bringing all “voices” together, harnessing the energy and ideas of many with an integrated approach that empowers the design process and results in a solution that exceeds client and community expectations.
Our design solutions are inspirational, functional, and healthy for users and for the environment. With a holistic approach to issues of place, function, context and community, BNIM Architects strives to create architecture that not only performs technologically but also stirs the imagination of its users, while reconnecting them experientially to the living world.

KIERANTIMBERLAKE ASSOCIATES

KieranTimberlake Associates LLP has focused on solving complex design issues innovatively for over twenty years. We develop leading edge architecture that responds to the ideas, needs, and circumstances of its inhabitants. To further our understanding of architecture and develop new ways to see, design and make the products around us, we place research and development at the core of our practice. We employ collective rather than singular intelligence in the making of architecture. Our process is holistic involving many layers of information and participants at one time. Our art is the discovery of external and internal logics derived from this exploration.
An award-winning and internationally recognized architecture firm, KieranTimberlake Associates is noted for its research, innovation and inventive design. Founded in Philadelphia in 1984 by Stephen Kieran, FAIA, and James Timberlake, FAIA, the firm is comprised of fifty-four professionals. Recent projects include Loblolly House in Taylors Island Maryland, the new Sculpture Building at Yale University, Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC and the West Campus Residential Initiative at Cornell University.

MORPHOSIS

Morphosis was founded in 1972 in Los Angeles as an interdisciplinary and collective practice involved in experimental design and rigorous research. Today, the firm consists of a group of more than 40 professionals, who remain committed to the practice of architecture as a collaborative enterprise. Located in Chelsea, Morphosis New York represents an extension of the studio under a single umbrella of leadership, design philosophy and operations.
Named after the Greek term, morphosis, meaning to form or be in formation, Morphosis is a dynamic and evolving practice that responds to the shifting and advancing social, cultural, political and technological conditions of modern life. A critical practice where creative output engages contemporary society and culture through architectural design and education, Morphosis is a process driven firm that seeks new and different design challenges and has resisted becoming specialized in any particular building type. With projects worldwide, the firm’s work ranges in scale from residential, institutional, and civic buildings to large urban planning projects.
With founder Thom Mayne serving as design director, Morphosis typically generates its ideas through brain-storming sessions, in which designers question all prior assumptions about a project and intensively test and refine different avenues toward a solution. Morphosis works closely with its clients to help them define the ethical and functional goals of the project, then translates those goals into a design that satisfies the unique requirements and aesthetic opportunities of the program, site and context. The ultimate goal is to produce an architecture that surprises and inspires—a critical architecture that contributes to the conversation about how we live today.
Over the past 30 years, Morphosis has received 25 Progressive Architecture awards, 70 American Institute of Architects (AIA) awards and numerous other honors.

PUGH + SCARPA ARCHITECTURE

Lawrence Scarpa, AIA, and Angela Brooks, AIA are recognized leaders in design innovation: formal, social, and sustainable. Under their direction as Lead Designers of Pugh + Scarpa, the firm has received 36 major design awards, notably eleven National AIA Awards, including 2006 and 2003 AIA Committee on the Environment “Top Ten Green Project” awards, 2005 Record Houses, 2003 Record Interiors, and the 2003 Rudy Bruner Prize. In 2004, the Architectural League of New York selected Lawrence Scarpa as an “Emerging Voice” in architecture. His work is currently on exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.
They have taught and lectured at the university level at numerous schools including UCLA, University of Florida, Mississippi State University and SCI-arc. Mr. Scarpa is the 2008 Ruth and Norman Moore visiting professor at Washington University, 2007 Eliel Saarinen Visiting Professor at the Alfred Taubman College of Architecture at the University of Michigan, 2005 University of Michigan Max Fisher Visiting Fellow and 2004 Friedman Fellow at the University of California at Berkeley.
Mr. Scarpa and Ms. Brooks are also co-founders of Livable Places, a nonprofit development and policy organization dedicated to promoting healthy communities and improving quality of life through policy reform and responsible mixed-use housing developments.

International architects

ADJAYE ASSOCIATES

A graduate of the Royal College of Art, David Adjaye started a small practice in 1994 and over the ensuing five years built a reputation through reconstructing cafes, bars and private homes. Rowan Moore, architecture critic of the Evening Standard wrote “David Adjaye has an artist’s clarity of concept.” In June 2000 he reformed his studio as Adjaye/Associates with 8 employees and the firm has since expanded to thirty in London with offices in Berlin and New York.
In June 2001, Adjaye/Associates beat several high profile practices to win the Idea Store competition to design two new-build libraries in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Part of a programme based on a new type of information and learning provision being pioneered by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the Idea Store was selected for an exhibition that highlighted 100 projects that are changing the world at the VIII Venice Biennale of Architecture 2002. The Idea Store, along with the residential project Dirty House was included in the Sao Paolo Bienal, Brazil, in September 2003. The Idea Store was featured again in the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2004, won the national accessibility award from RIBA in 2005 and was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize in 2006.
The practice is currently working on a new market hall in Wakefield, Yorkshire, a 300-unit housing development in Birmingham, the design of the Moscow School of Management, Skolkovo as well as further projects in the United States, South East Asia and Africa.

CONSTRUCTS LLC

Joe Osae-Addo was born in Ghana, West Africa, and trained at the Architectural Association in London. He worked in Finland, the UK and the USA, setting up his practice in Los Angeles in 1991. His work has been influenced by ‘genus-loci’, and how architecture can/should respond to this in creating pieces which are both site specific and meet the needs of people who will interact with it.
He is a founding partner in the A + D Museum, Los Angeles, whose mission is to advance knowledge and to enable people to appreciate and understand architecture and design. He moved back to his native country Ghana in 2004 and is currently the CEO of Constructs LLC, an ‘inno-native’ design firm based in Accra and Tamale in Ghana, West Africa.
Constructs LLC is currently working on several projects as both developer and architect, with a primary focus on developing manufacturing, using and promoting indegenous materials and technology for construction, in a contemporary way. The firm has expanded is mandate to become a think tank of sorts, to engage in the discourse of economic development in Ghana and Africa as a whole. They have become self described ‘DESIGN- SOCIO-ECONOMISTS’, using architecture as a platform to engage in Projects ranging from re-branding of Towns and Cities, Product design (as an economic empowerment tool) to targetted urban planning initiatives.

GRAFT

GRAFT is a full service architectural firm located in Los Angeles, California; Berlin, Germany and Beijing, China. With the collective professional experience that encompasses a wide array of building types including Fine Arts, Educational, Institutional, Commercial and Residential facilities. The firm has won numerous awards in Europe as well as in the United States of America.
GRAFT was established in 1998 in Los Angeles, California by Lars Krückeberg and Wolfram Putz. The firm was joined by Thomas Willemeit in 2001 and opened an office in Berlin, Germany the same year. In 2005 Gregor Hoheisel, who had been partner in Los Angeles in 2000 to 2001, became partner in Graft Beijing, which was founded the same year. In 2007 Alejandra Lillo became partner for Graft LA.
GRAFT was conceived as a Label for Architecture, Urban Planning, Exhibition Design, Music and the “Pursuit of Happyness”. Since the firm was established it has been commissioned to design and manage a wide range of projects in multiple disciplines and locations. With the core of the firm’s enterprises gravitating around the field of architecture and the built environment, GRAFT has always maintained an interest in crossing the boundaries between disciplines and “grafting” the creative potentials and methodologies of different realities. This is reflected in the firm’s expansion into the fields of music, car design, art installations, academic projects and “eventings” as well as in the variety of locations throughout the globe.

MVRDV

MVRDV was set up in Rotterdam, the Netherlands in 1991 by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries. MVRDV produces designs and studies in the fields of architecture, urbanism and landscape design.
MVRDV pursues a fascination for radical methodical research: on density and on public realms. Through investigation and use of the complex amounts of data that accompany contemporary design processes, spaces are shaped methodically.
Clients, users and specialists are intensively involved at an early stage of the design process. Reactions to the first designs can be processed quickly, creating a high degree of support for the design and encouraging the sort of new insights that can lead to specific innovative solutions. In this way our generalism and verve is linked with the specialization and thoroughness of the other team members.
The products of this approach can vary therefore completely. They range from buildings of all types and sizes, to urban designs, publications and installations, as well as the development of software programs.

SHIGERU BAN ARCHITECTS

Shigeru Ban Architects (SBA) was established in 1985 in Tokyo and has 3 offices – Tokyo, Paris and New York - with a total of 30-35 professional staff. Dean Maltz of Dean Maltz Architect began working with Shigeru Ban in 1999 and is now an established partner of Shigeru Ban Architects and manages the New York office. SBA’s design experience stems from working in a wide range of project types from private residences, collective housing, and apartments to offices, hotels, museums, libraries, retail, exhibition design and industrial design. SBA continually seeks to develop innovative structural systems and construction methods in the pursuit of individually iconic projects. Founded on a basis of structural rationality, environmental awareness and spatial simplicity, SBA’s projects include the new satellite Pompidou Centre in Metz, France, The Seikei University Library in Tokyo, Japan, The Swatch Building in Ginza, Japan, The Nomadic Museum in New York, NY, as well as numerous commissions around the world. Additionally, SBA has unique experience in volunteering for disaster relief causes such as providing shelters for victims of earthquakes in Kobe, Japan (1995), Turkey (1999), and India (2001) and working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to develop appropriate shelters in the refugee camps of Rwanda.



World Architecture : e-architect - a guide to key buildings across the globe

New Orleans Housing architects : GRAFT

American Architects

Buildings / photos for the New Orleans Flooding Architecture page welcome:
info@e-architect.co.uk

New Orleans Homes: page - adrian welch / isabelle lomholt

Website: www.makeitrightnola.org