Brad Pitt Brings the Tiny Home Trend to New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina’s 10th Anniversary

Heather Cha
Updated

The tiny home trend has taken off in recent years, and is now being championed by of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars: Brad Pitt. The actor-producer’s Make it Right foundation is partnering with FYI’s Tiny House Nation to build the organization’s very first tiny home to mark the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. This most recent enterprise will be the organization’s 109th home built in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, the neighborhood hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Pitt founded the Make it Right foundation in 2007 to provide residences for communities in need of affordable and sustainable housing. Make it Right seeks to fulfill its vision of having people all around the world “living in healthy communities and affordable, high-quality, environmentally sustainable homes.” All housing built by Make it Right follows the “Cradle to Cradle” philosophy, which was created by architect William McDonough and chemist Dr. Michael Braungart.

For a quick rundown of what exactly Cradle to Cradle entails, the organization’s website provides this helpful list:

• Materials are defined as biological and/or technical nutrients for safe use and reuse
• Products are designed for disassembly/recovery
• Uses renewable energy
• Maintains and enhances water quality
• Honors social fairness and human dignity
• Improvement is continuous and aspirational

Taylor Royle, communications director for Make it Right, announced the tiny home initiative on August 19. In the blog post she outlined the specs for this exciting new project.  Comprised of two floors, the tiny house will have a living room, full kitchen, full bathroom, and washer/dryer on the lower level. The bedroom, closet, and work area will be built on the upper level.

A true eco-friendly powerhouse, the home will adhere to the green standards applied to all Make it Right construction projects, among which include solar-power panels, ENERGY Star appliances, and sustainable floors.  All Make it Right homes are LEED Platinum certified, meaning they meet the highest standard of guidelines for green building, as verified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

An article from nola.com reports that the home will sell for less than $100,000. The Make it Right team is hard at work to finish it by August 28. The best part of the story? The home will be given to a “deserving local school teacher.”

If you’re interested in getting involved, head over to the Make it Right website to find different ways you can donate and/or volunteer.

Check out photos of the project in progress as well as some other tiny homes previously covered by Yahoo.

Also on Yahoo Makers:

2 Million Swedes Helped Design This ‘Ideal’ Home: Would You Live in It?

Airstream for the Apocalypse: Tiny Home Generates Its Own Water and Power

5 Smart Space-Saving DIY Projects to Cut Clutter in Your Home

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