They are intended for the development of the 9th arrondissement of the city, especially severely affected by Hurricane Katrina, and continue the line of single-family houses (also designed by order of the MIR fund), the first examples of which were ready at the end of 2008.
Now we are talking about houses for large families or for those who would like to rent out half of their home. The 14 participating workshops are Atelier Hitoshi, Bild Design, Billes, buildingstudio, BNIM, Constructs, GRAFT, Kappe Architects, MVRDV, Wagonner & Ball Architects, Pugh + Scarpa, Alejandro Aravena and Elemental, Frank Gehry and William McDonagh bureau, who from the very beginning advised MIR on the “green” aspect of the foundation's architectural and construction activities.
Most projects (including Gehry) feature a simplified geometric shape that blends with traditional Louisiana residential architecture. They suggest a free, easily changeable arrangement of interior partitions, as well as a close connection between the external space and the interior. These homes, like all MIR projects, are LEED Platinum Certified and come with a variety of hurricane and flood protection features.
At the same time, the MVRDV and Pugh + Scarpa bureaus proposed more radical options, in the first case - the connection of two one-story houses on piles into a single volume, in the second - the solution of the facade as an open terrace with a high raised ceiling and an open hearth for a barbecue. But most of all, the works of the workshops buildingstudio and Graft stand out from the general line, which abandoned the traditional approach in favor of a more "relevant" and effective solution.
The first houses in this series, based on projects chosen by future tenants, will begin construction in mid-August 2009.
