by Trish Smith (The Green Groove) - Follow me on Twitter

The name Brad Pitt is synonymous with the words “major movie star.” Some of Pitt’s most memorable roles include a vampire, a fight club champion, a three-time thief and a hero of the Trojan War. His latest film, a fantasy called The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, casts him as a New Orleans man that grows younger instead of older. Let’s just say that Brad is a very versatile actor.

But besides being one of the most recognized actors in the world, and also being married to Angelina Jolie, another major movie star, Pitt is also an environmentalist and humanitarian. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina became known as one of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history. Katrina left a large path of destruction in New Orleans, flooding about 80% of the city and killing over 1,800 people. The damage was so intense that it would cost about $100 billion to repair what was left of the city.

One place in New Orleans that received the most damage was a neighborhood called the Lower 9tth Ward. Pitt visited this area in 2007 and was heartbroken for the residents who lost both their homes and their hope during the storm. He believed that the intensity of the destruction was largely due to the failures of man to build durable homes in the Lower 9th Ward.

Trying to Make It Right

Using his celebrity status for recognition, and spending millions of dollars of his own money, Pitt created the Make It Right Foundation. The goal of the Make It Right Foundation was to rebuild the Lower 9th ward into a sustainable and safe community. Pitt partnered with Global Green, an environmental non-profit organization created by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993, and sustainable architect William McDonough, who developed the Cradle to Cradle philosophy of thinking, to get the project off the ground.

Pitt was a huge fan of McDonough’s Cradle to Cradle philosophy, which believes that you can build a community with quality, eco-friendly resources and still maintain a positive spirit among the people. He wanted to tell the Lower 9th Ward residents that they could live in a place like this and not have to worry about how much it would cost, since using green building material would cost 75% less than traditional material. He also wanted them to experience firsthand the benefits of green building.

Here’s a clip of Pitt talking to Larry King about the Make It Right Foundation:

Not a Wasted Home of Their Own

With hope in his heart and help by his side, Pitt began to enlist in green architects that could build the new Make It Right homes. The homes were to be a mixture of traditional New Orleans home designs and innovative new green style. They were also going to be designed using a majority of recycled products.

All of the homes were built with these 4 principles in mind: safety, affordability, sustainability and high quality design. The green architects combined the Cradle to Cradle philosophy with the 4 principles to create single family and duplex homes for the Lower 9th Ward residents. The homes feature these “waste to resource” materials:

• EcoWorx Performance Broadloom Carpet –Carpet made from recycled, raw materials
• TimberSIL® Wood Products – Wood that is heated with biological nutrients, making it less toxic and easy to reuse
• Earthtex® Brand fabrics – 100% recycled fabric that is PVC-free and emits no VOCs

Here’s how the Broadloom carpets are made:

In addition to these eco-friendly building materials, Louisiana’s very own South Coast Solar was chosen by the Make It Right foundation to design and install rooftop solar panels for each home. The homes will also feature soy foam insulation and all Energy Star appliances.

With a budget of $150,000 for each home and a goal to build 150 homes total, Pitt and the Make It Right foundation are heading in the right direction. The first 8 homes have been completed. You can see them here.

As you can see, Brad Pitt has not only gained platinum celebrity status in his career, but he has also helped Lower 9th Ward residents gain the first ever LEED Platinum certified homes in New Orleans history. And just like Pitt in the movie Benjamin Button, the Lower 9th Ward is experiencing a rejuvenation of its own.