Housing in Biloxi
Again, the after katrina disaster is a fascinating laboratory of innovation and experimentation in architecture and urban questions. As Denise Scott Brown said in an earlier article published in Art forum (December 2005) with the title “What Should New Orleans Do?” the question of standardization of housing or even mass production is maybe a solution for reconstruction.As we illustrated in previous articles on this blog, architectural and urban design has been more than ever an ongoing research in the field of construction and real estate development. An article published in the NY Times “ Design Steps Up in Disaster’s Wake” exposes some of the experiences of design in housing showing some alternatives to the FEMA emergency trailer option.
The non profit organization Architecture For Humanity involved in emergency housing, and recently one of the main leader in the Tsunami recovering in Asia in 2004, is now developing proposals and inviting designers to resolve the problems of the Mississippi coastline disaster.
“Today the organization, based in San Francisco, has 10 full-time employees and a $1.9 million budget paid for by foundations and individual and corporate contributions.The Biloxi Model Home Program is focusing on the low-income neighborhood of East Biloxi, where Ms. Parker lives and where the need for permanent housing was particularly dire because of the loss of 3,500 homes in a community of 12,000 residents.
There were various private and governmental programs in place to help, mostly through grants and loans, when the architecture group got involved a few weeks after the hurricane, but lack of coordination among them and contractors and architects presented problems — particularly given challenges like the need to rebuild above flood level, at heights exceeding 12 feet in some areas, and to determine which building materials would be not only safe but also insurer-approved.”
