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Making it right: Brad Pitt's foundation settles for $20.5 million in faulty post-Katrina homes lawsuit

2022-08-18T15:06:00-04:00

A settlement has been reached in the yearslong saga surrounding Brad Pitt’s Make it Right Foundation and residents of New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward.

NOLA.com is reporting that the foundation will pay a total of $20.5 million in the form of individual $25,000 reimbursements available to any plaintiffs covered by the class action suit, which was first initiated in 2018.

The foundation’s attorneys did not immediately comment on the outcome of the highly-publicized case, which stems from flawed designs, faulty construction techniques, rotting building materials, and unsafe living conditions documented in nearly all of the 109 total homes built between 2008 and 2015 through the foundation. (A mere 6 of which are still considered to be in “reasonably good shape,” according to a January report from University of Illinois urban geographer Judith Keller.)

Previously on Archinect: Brad Pitt's foundation facing lawsuit for post-Katrina homes amidst reports they are falling apart

“This is one of ...

Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation sues its former executive director

2021-04-12T19:06:00-04:00

On Friday, the Make It Right Foundation sued its former executive director, Tom Darden III, along with the former treasurer and other officials, accusing them of mismanaging the $65 million project between 2007 and 2016. The suit, filed in in Civil District Court, also alleges that Darden and the others misled fellow Make It Right officials, including Pitt.

The legal saga around the Make It Right Foundation continues: after facing a lawsuit of their own for delivering improperly constructed homes as part of the initiative's high-profile post-Hurricane Katrina housing initiative in New Orleans and then suing the architect responsible for the flawed designs, the foundation is now reportedly taking aim at former executive director Tom Darden III and other leadership team members.

Previously on Archinect: David Adjaye-designed house for Brad Pitt's Make It Right initiative to be demolished

The architecture stories that defined October 2020

2020-12-29T14:53:00-05:00

While the news cycle in October was mostly dominated by the upcoming elections and ongoing pandemic, other aspects of life continued. In the world of architecture, these were the stories that captured our collective attention...

The Challenges of Academia

Lesley Lokko resigns as Dean of CCNY's Spitzer School of Architecture

After less than a year of her appointment as dean of CCNY's architecture school, Lesley Lokko surprised us all with her announcement of resignation. Work environment and systemic racism played a role, as we learned in our panel discussion with Lesley and other leaders of the architectural academy...

What will the future of architectural education look like?

As part of our panel discussion series for Parade, an exciting new initiative started by Archinect and Designer Pages, we spoke with a number of leaders in the world in architectural academia to address the bigger issues affecting the current and future state of education.

Get Lectured, Fall 2020 series

One o...

David Adjaye-designed house for Brad Pitt's Make It Right initiative to be demolished

2020-10-09T14:06:00-04:00

Another building constructed through Brad Pitt's Make It Right affordable housing initiative in New Orleans is in trouble: after complaints and lawsuits over "shoddy construction" of a number of houses were brought forward in recent years, leading to the demolition of one rain-damaged and rotting 7-year-old house in 2018, now the house designed by acclaimed architect David Adjaye, who just won this year's Royal Gold Medal, has been ordered to be torn down as well.

Previously on Archinect: Brad Pitt, Make It Right face lawsuit for "shoddy construction"

"The house at 1826 N. Reynes St. [...] was completed and sold by Make It Right in 2011 for $130,000," reports Dough MacCash for Nola. "Two years later, the buyer sold it back to the non-profit for a similar amount. When new, it was an audacious-looking home. The upper story of the house was an open-air patio protected from rain by a roof supported by vertical wooden posts. Those posts are now so deteriorated that the roof has partially...

Brad Pitt, Make It Right face lawsuit for "shoddy construction"

2019-10-26T07:00:00-04:00

According to Nola, "Brad Pitt will remain as a defendant in a lawsuit that alleges shoddy construction of some of the homes his foundation helped build in the Lower 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina, an Orleans Parish judge has ruled."

In the midst of the allegations, Pitt and other members of the Make It Right Foundation requested to be removed from the suit that was filed by two homeowners, as they felt they could not be held personally responsible for the construction of the homes.

The actor's foundation built over 100 affordable homes in response to Katrina in an effort to show how good design could help address the threats of natural disaster. The two homeowners filed their suit against Make It Right in September of last year, claiming "deficient construction that caused mold, poor air quality, structural failures, electrical malfunctions, plumbing mishaps, rotting wood and faulty heating, ventilation and cooling." It was during this same time that the foundation sued their arc...

Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation sues architect for flawed designs

2018-09-20T13:39:00-04:00

Actor Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation has sued the architect of scores of homes the nonprofit sold to Lower 9th Ward residents who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina. Make it Right itself was recently sued over the homes’ shoddy construction. The new lawsuit against local architect John C. Williams was filed Tuesday in Orleans Parish Civil District Court.

Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, recently facing a lawsuit of their own on delivering poorly constructed homes, is now suing John C. Williams, the architect responsible for many of the homes sold to New Orleans residents. Repairs to the water damaged homes caused by flawed designs could cost over $20 million.

Brad Pitt's foundation facing lawsuit for post-Katrina homes amidst reports they are falling apart

2018-09-04T14:21:00-04:00

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward in 2005, Brad Pitt set up the Make It Right Foundation to aid in the rebuilding efforts. The non-profit charity, promoting energy efficient technology and high quality architecture, promised LEED Platinum-certified structures designed by star architects—like the homes designed by Frank Gehry—to help house families in one of the city's hardest hit areas.

Thirteen years since the hurricane's passing, the foundation has struggled to deliver on its pledge and is now facing a potential lawsuit over the conditions of the now falling apart homes. Reports from residents include roofs caving in, wood rotting, and walls collapsing, as well as claims of severe headaches and other health problems caused by electrical and plumbing issues.

"Essentially, Make It Right was making a lot of promises to come back and fix the homes that they initially sold these people and have failed to do so. We have some people who have gotten sick, o...

Architecture's Page Six moment: Brad Pitt hangs out with American-Israeli architect and MIT professor Neri Oxman

2018-04-05T17:04:00-04:00

A source exclusively confirms that architecture and design aficionado Pitt recently met accomplished Oxman through an MIT architecture project and they have since become friends. Pitt was referred to Oxman to collaborate on an architectural project he was working on, we’re told. As first revealed on “Page Six TV,” a source told us, “Brad and Neri instantly hit it off because they share the same passion for architecture, design and art. This is best described as a professional friendship.”

Brave New Recycling Economy: Movement Turns Trash to Treasure

2014-08-18T17:14:00-04:00

Every piece of garbage can be turned into raw material that can be used in future products. With his influential Cradle to Cradle movement, Germany's Michael Braungart espouses a form of eco-hedonism that puts smart production before conservation.

Recently on Archinect: Student Works: This house made of trash teaches a lesson in green housekeeping

Make It Right unveils new designs for Native American housing in Montana

2014-06-23T13:10:00-04:00

The Make It Right foundation has unveiled its new home designs for the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes of Fort Peck, Montana. Following LEED Platinum certification and Cradle to Cradle practices, the foundation is known for building sustainable homes for people in need. For the Ft. Peck project, Make It Right plans to build twenty solar-powered homes for tribal members, and develop a sustainable master plan for the reservation of over 6,000 people.

Designers and architects involved included GRAFT, Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative, Architecture for Humanity, Method Homes and Living Homes. The homes will be available to tribal members with a household income of 60% or lower than the area's median income.

Find more information on the Ft. Peck project from Make It Right here.

Wood product said to be rotting in 'Make It Right' homes in New Orleans

2014-01-02T15:30:00-05:00

Actor Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation, which has built 100 energy-efficient new homes in the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Lower 9th Ward, is considering legal action against the manufacturer of an innovative glass-infused wood that was used in some of the homes’ outdoor steps and front porches. The wood has begun rotting, despite being guaranteed for 40 years, a Make It Right spokeswoman said.

Brad Pitt's "Make It Right" opens LEED-platinum housing complex in Kansas City

2013-11-11T15:50:00-05:00

Make It Right, an organization that helps communities rebuild after environmental or economic disasters, opened its most recent project in Kansas City, Missouri this past Saturday. The project focused on the abandoned and badly damaged Bancroft School plot, renovating the school building into LEED Platinum apartments, and constructing new homes on the grounds (designed by local BNIM Architects). The community complex also includes an auditorium, gym, computer lab and public gardens.

Originally founded by Brad Pitt in response to the alarmingly slow rate of reconstruction in post-Katrina New Orleans, Make It Right uses urban acupuncture tactics to help damaged cities recuperate. According to Director of Innovation Tim Duggan, projects like the Bancroft School can help "[transform] the focal point in a blighted neighborhood into a catalyst for redevelopment. And we believe this can be a model for communities around the country".

Since its founding in 2007, Make It Right ha...

Editor's Picks #289

2012-11-12T14:42:00-05:00

News
Architectural Digest interviewed Brad Pitt about his recently announced collection designed in collaboration with furnituremaker Frank Pollaro. mdler believed "you can tell the influence of Gehry in a few of his pieces” but Orhan Ayyüce commented "These belong to ‘Italian’ furniture store in your neighborhood...I agree with Xenakis that he should bite the bullet and go to design school for few years. He could even have home schooling but better he learns like the rest of the design students".

ObjectThinking wanted to get honest "The title of this post is disingenuous. If you read the linked article from Architectural Digest Pitt states that his input was fairly minimal...Frank Pollaro clearly deserves most of the ‘credit’ for what was produced...The pity is that companies who should be engaging really talented designers choose to snag untrained celebrities and get them to ‘art direct’ or ‘curate’ things in the knowledge that the big names will shift units”.

The Seattl...

Brad Pitt is now a furniture designer

2012-11-05T17:55:00-05:00

The unveiling, which will take place November 13 through 15 in New York, has been years in the making. “I’ve been doodling ideas for buildings and furniture since the early 1990s, when I first discovered [Charles Rennie] Mackintosh and Frank Lloyd Wright,” says Pitt. “Actually, I found Wright in college, when looking for a lazy two-point credit to get out of French. It forever changed my life.”

First Frank Gehry Home Completed by Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation

2012-07-13T13:00:00-04:00

Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation (remember THE PINK PROJECT?) has sent us first images of the new home Frank Gehry designed for the initiative. Completed this week, the building is located in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, the neighborhood most devastated by Hurricane Katrina back in August of 2005. To date, this is the only Gehry-designed home in Louisiana, and—complying with Make It Right's core mission—built to LEED Platinum certification standards.

Here's the official press release we've received from Make It Right:

July 13, 2012, New Orleans – Make It Right, founded by Brad Pitt to build sustainable homes for communities in need, is proud to announce the completion of the organization's first home by renowned architect Frank Gehry. Gehry's duplex design was completed this week in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, the neighborhood most devastated by Hurricane Katrina. This home is one of only 22 Gehry residences in the United States and the only Gehry home in Louisiana.

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Brad Pitt’s foundation to help redevelop Bancroft School

2012-02-21T14:31:00-05:00

A bond forged in storm-ravaged New Orleans between actor Brad Pitt and a local architecture firm is bearing fruit in Kansas City — and may show the path forward to reusing dozens of empty schools. The long-closed Bancroft School at 4300 Tracy Ave. will be renovated into affordable apartments and a community center with the aid of the Make It Right Foundation founded by Pitt...