The Pink Concept

“The Pink Project” is the specific proposal led by actor Brad Pitt and Make It Right. This aim of this project is to bring the world’s attention to the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. But the main focus is not on the destruction; rather it is on the renovation effort that the “Pink Project” is bringing to the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans.

The “pink” buildings are Pitt’s way of communicating to American citizens worldwide, to help rebuild the neighborhood in the Lower 9th Ward. The plans are to raise $150,000 per home for 150 homes, totaling a price tag of $22,500,000. Anyone interested in donating to the project can do so on the website by sponsoring a whole house or smaller aspects that result in the final completion.

Each pink building is constructed of a large framework. Specifically, each building is made up of four modular pieces. These four modular pieces make moving and assembly much more efficient and timely. Over a period of six weeks, the 150 buildings will be placed in their designated locations until all the donations have been completed.

Previously, Pitt sponsored an architecture competition organized by Global Green with the goal of generating ideas on how to rebuild sustainability. Several of those designs are currently under construction in the Lower 9th Ward.

Make It Right assembled a team of fourteen local, national and international architecture firms. The four main guiding principles for the designs are:

1) Safety
2) Affordability
3) Sustainability
4) High design quality

The International Firms include:

• Adjaye Architects – London, England
• Constructs – Accra, Ghana
• Graft – Berlin, Germany
• MVRDV – Rotterdam, Holland
• Shigeru Ban Architects – Tokyo, Japan