Brad Pitt Aids New Orleans With New Housing Design Initiative  9/3/06

Brad Pitt is putting his passion for architecture to good use in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, Louisiana - he's the big name behind a new project to build affordable, green housing in the city.

The movie star has sponsored a Global Green competition to find forward-thinking architects who can help rebuild New Orleans - and he was in Louisiana Thursday (31AUG06) to announce the winner, New York firm Workshop/APD.

Pitt used the design competition's conclusion to make his own feelings known about the US government's reaction to the Hurricane Katrina devastation.

In an exclusive interview this morning with breakfast news show Today, Pitt said, "The first responsibility is helping those that are most vulnerable and we failed, we failed miserably, and, to some extent, we're still failing.

"We're a country of great ingenuity and the fact that we can't get in there and clean up this quagmire is ridiculous and it's shameful."

Pitt's new Global Green initiative will create communities of low-income, stylish housing which makes the most of natural resources to cut bills by as much as 65 per cent.

The movie star explains, "I love that it can be replicated and not in a cookie-cutter style. At the same time, where it really wins is, if done properly, we can completely get rid of the idea of an energy bill.

"You can cut your energy bill down 65% just by the way you position your house, the way you structure it for airflow and ventilation and shielding from the sun."

Pitt hopes American leaders embrace the new Global Green design initiative - and start supporting similar projects throughout the country.

He adds, "We're still the most powerful nation in the world. Beyond policing the world we could be inspiring the world. We could be at the forefront of this kind of movement."