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Graft

PINK PROJECT, NEW ORLEANS

Mark McMenamin -- Interior Design, 12/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

In the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, charity begins with houses. That's what brought Brad Pitt and his Make it Right foundation to the 14-block residential swath, which was effectively erased by Hurricane Katrina. To raise funds and start rebuilding, the actor enlisted Graft to transform the site of ruin into a patchwork of empowering pink: 150 Monopoly-style "houses," consisting of über-eco Earthtex fabric fitted around aluminum frames and lit internally with photovoltaic-powered fluorescent tubes by Hervé Descottes of L'Observatoire. The five-week installation was an open-air telethon of sorts, with a structure erected for every $150,000 raised—the cost of building a real home—and the final take exceeding $12 million. Construction began this summer on the first of 81 sustainable residences, using the disassembled aluminum as base scaffolding. The fabrics? They're now MIR totes.

CL3 Architects

project Bamboo Pavilion, Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, Hong Kong.

standout In the 2,379-square-foot courtyard of a former prison, white-painted bamboo scaffolding—the unsung hero of Hong Kong construction—surrounds four existing trees, culminating in a soaring circular tower.

David Howell Design

project New York Photo Festival, Brooklyn, New York.

standout The wheat-toned backdrop of interlocked panels, constructed of bamboo-plywood and a composite of sunflower-seed husks, establishes a visual through line for the 50,000-square-foot space, which is carved into five distinct pavilions and seamlessly linked by lighted pathways.

Luca Andrisani Architect

project Showtime House media room, New York.

standout Ten sculptural building blocks of birch plywood covered in baked high-gloss automotive finish serve as mounts for swiveling monitors in the cable network's 450-square-foot paean to modern media.