As mentioned earlier last week, there was good news from of the Make It Right NOLA camp that Brad Pitt’s green home development project in Lower 9th Ward had successfully beaten back Hurricane Gustav. At that time, the organizers had only heard via people on the scene and had not yet taken an in-depth look at any possible damage. Now, one week later, the results are highly encouraging.

According to the site, the homes — which are designed to withstand a minimum of 130mph winds — suffered little to no damage. Most interesting, none of the designs were boarded up to protect against debris or glass blow-out. From the site,

“In the construction of the first houses, we are evaluating two window protection technologies, impact resistant glass and “hurricane fabric” to protect windows and doors. The use of these technologies negates the need to board up doors and windows. We hope this will reduce the preparation time needed to prepare for a storm, in addition to protecting the contents of the houses, so that residents have more time to evacuate for future storm events.”

Very cool. To protect against any potential looting, the organization also hired a private security company to patrol the six homes under construction. Apparently, that security will remain “until the homes are occupied as part of our commitment to the families who own them.”

No updates yet on how all those pink fabric homes faired. I imagine those were removed ahead of the storm.

Check out the official Make It Right site for more information — or to help donate to this fantastic cause. Currently, of the 150 homes expected to be built, 10 are slated to be finished by the end of this year.

Categories: Causes, Home
Tags: brad pitt.

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

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