Brad Pitt is at it again

INCIDENT:
Brad Pitt fancies himself an architect and you know what... that is fine by me. But this is ONLY because he is a strong advocate of sustainable architecture. Plus his involvement brings architectural issues to the forefront of the social conscious when normally it is not even on the radar. So kudos to Brad for making it cool to care about the environment and for using architecture as the catalyst for change.

So if you didn't catch it last year, Brad Pitt narrated a really good PBS television series about environmentally-friendly architecture called Design: E2. You can watch all of the episodes online. [UPDATE: I just checked again and it is only excerpts of the shows... boo. Check your local listings.] (As an aside... currently there is a new E2 series called Energy: E2 narrated by Morgan Freeman. Check it out!).

And now Brad has taken on the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. He has assembled a team of world-renowned architects, including Morphosis, Shigeru Ban Architects, and Kieran Timberlake, to design green affordable housing at a large scale (150 houses total and 13 house designs). The project is called Make It Right (http://makeitrightnola.org/).

MORAL:
Most people know that my biggest interest in architecture is in how architecture can improve the quality of life of others. So to see Brad Pitt using his money, his celebrity, and his interest in architecture to promote good design (not only a high aesthetic but also environmental responsibility) makes me very happy. Celebrities take note... this is how it should be done.