We never thought we'd be writing about Brad Pitt in Core77, but the guy is now officially making design headlines. The actor's interest in architecture and love of New Orleans has led him to commission 13 firms to design 150 homes for areas devastated by Katrina, with restraints: 1,200-square-foot, flood-height-friendly homes for $150,000, and they have to be green, reducing upkeep costs by 75%.
"If you have this blank slate and this great technology out there, what better test than low-income housing?" Mr. Pitt said. "It's got to work at all levels to really be viable."
Pitt, who's pitching in $5 million of his own money alongside philanthropist Steven Bing, spread the designs out over 13 firms to get "a mixture of voices." He's also committed to letting the designers do what they do: "There is [no] reason to call on these great minds if you're just going to shackle them," he said. We bet more than one of you reading this wishes your boss was in love with Brad Pitt and would heed his advice.
Brad Pitt, commissioner of experimental housing designs
