Make It Right, the organization founded by Brad Pitt to provide housing to those in need, has unveiled 5 designs for their new initiative in the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana. The designs - by GRAFT, Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative, Architecture for Humanity, Method Homes and Living Homes - are inspired by cradle-to-cradle principles, will be LEED Platinum rated and have been developed alongside community consultation with the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes of Fort Peck.
The organization is planning to build 20 new homes on the reservation, as well as developing a sustainable masterplan for the entire 3,300 square mile reservation, with construction planned to start later this year.
More on the development of Make It Right's Fort Peck initiative after the break.
The Fort Peck Reservation is home to over 6,000 Native Americans; more than 600 of these are on the waiting list for housing, and overcrowding is a chronic problem. The 3-4 bedroom homes provided by Make It Right will be available to those whose income levels are at or below 60% of the Area Median.
Make It Right, founded in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, has a history of working with communities to deliver homes that match their needs. Cristoph Korner, founder of GRAFT, commented that "at a community meeting in Fort Peck one of the locals came up to us and remarked that they had many developers and architects come by throughout the years and tried to help, but none of them ever took the time to actually talk to them about the way they live. This kind of relationship with the community is the real success of Make It Right projects."
Jamie Blosser, an architect working for Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative, said: "The work with Make It Right and Fort Peck Tribe highlights an emerging new paradigm in Native American communities for housing that is again specific to community, culture, climate and place."
The LEED platinum designs also reflect Make It Right's desire to be "a worldwide resource for affordable green building." Tim Duggan, Innovations Director of Make It Right, said "Make It Right believes that the best and most creative design solutions begin with an open exchange of ideas between designers and community stakeholders. Our design team is shaping a sustainable housing vision for Fort Peck and a model that can be replicated in tribal communities across the country."
