Pitt was presented with a plaque from the U.S. Green Building Council which said the actor and his foundation “Make It Right” had created the “largest and greenest single-family community in the world.”

“‘Make It Right’ has exceeded my expectations,” said Pitt who set up the foundation in 2007.

“Our criteria from the beginning were at odds, to say the least. We demanded that these homes be sustainable, that they have aesthetic qualities … that they be storm resilient and take safety in mind of the families who live there and that they would be affordable.”

“Make It Right” has created 13 homes in the New Orleans area the 9th Ward, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Read more/discuss.

Brad will be attending the Clinton Global Initiative in NYC on Thursday, September 24th from 5:00 PM – 6:15 PM (eastern time). It’s a special session entitled: Infrastructure: Building a Better Future – A Progress Report on Making it Right in New Orleans. The session is supposed to The participants will be Brad, Tom Darden, Executive Director of MIR, and former president Bill Clinton.

This special session offers a progress report on this CGI commitment, demonstrating concretely how government, non-profits, and the private sector can work together to build safer, stronger, and more resilient communities while expanding economic opportunity. From one of the greatest disasters in American history, “Make it Right” is laying the groundwork for new prosperity and new beginnings on a foundation of affordable green housing. The discussion will include specific stories of the recovery in New Orleans, and launch a dialogue with CGI members on the future of green infrastructure and sustainable cities.

Read more/discuss. Thanks Elodie. Brad will probably appear live on the CGI webcast.

Brad Pitt may not have any confidence in his own mayoral bid but one person who benefited from his Make It Right Foundation thinks otherwise. Melba Leggett-Barnes, who received a new home through the charity, chatted with RadarOnline.com about her recent run-in with Pitt and the support he has shown her from the moment they met. She also discusses her experience with Angelina Jolie and what the actress is like as a mom.

“I think he would win no problem – I know that I would vote for him. I saw Brad on Tuesday and he gave me a great big hug before he did his interview with Anne Curry,” Leggett-Barnes shared. “He is a very genuine and down-to-earth person and although he has said his policies wouldn’t go with the position of mayor a lot of people would love to see him in the job.” (Pitt had joked that he could not win an election because of his pro-gay marriage, marijuana legalization, and no religion views.)

“Both my husband Baxter and I are very grateful to him and his foundation for giving us another chance because we lost everything in the hurricane,” she added. Their $150,000 environmentally friendly house was one of the first to be built by Pitt’s foundation after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Several of their neighbors drowned in the hurricane and the they ended-up living in a trailer before the Make It Right Foundation stepped in and started to rebuild much safer homes.

“When we met he asked us how we were all doing and everyone around here speaks well of him and Angelina Jolie.”

Read more/Discuss.

Architects from eight firms, ranging from a young New Orleans collective to world-renowned Gehry Partners, currently are racing to finish schematic designs for Make It Right.

In mid-March the organization, founded by actor Brad Pitt to rebuild 150 houses in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina, tapped the firms to contribute additional designs to the effort. Their visions will be released June 20.

In addition to Gehry Partners, the firms include William McDonough + Partners, Atelier Hitoshi Abe, Los Angeles-based Kappe Architects/Planners, the Chilean studio Elemental, and three New Orleans firms-Bild Design, buildingstudio, and Waggoner & Ball Architects. There was no official competition; rather, the architects were selected through informal recommendations from Pitt and longtime Make It Right consultants McDonough and the Los Angeles-based firm Graft.

In 2007 Pitt commissioned 13 architects, including the local firm Billes Architects and international star Shigeru Ban, to design houses for his highly publicized Make It Right project. In its composition of local, American, and overseas firms, the latest roster of architects bears similarity to the first-round selections. “Local architects know the region, they know the climate and culture of the city, they’re a step ahead,” says Make It Right executive director Tom Darden. “It’s important to mix that experience with the innovative national and international firms that may apply new design perspective to the Lower Ninth Ward.” Read more. Credit to Kenya and Hotspiral, thanks Gabriella.

Actor Brad Pitt has said that by the end of 2009 he would like to see 100 homes built in the storm-wrecked Lower 9th Ward neighborhood.

There’s still a long way to go, but Pitt’s dream of seeing dozens of families thriving in one of the neighborhoods hardest-hit by Hurricane Katrina is slowly becoming a reality. More than two dozen homes are either finished or under construction, and duplexes are on the way.

On a recent visit to the site, Pitt met with architects commissioned by the Make It Right Foundation to design duplexes that will sit among the new homes.

On Wednesday, a group of New Orleans activists and civic leaders planned to give Pitt’s effort a boost with a $150,000 donation, the average cost to build. Source. Thanks Sandra.

During the civil rights movement, the distinction was made between those who would “talk the talk” — i.e., attend parties, fundraisers and speeches — and those who would be willing to “walk the walk” — that is, use their bodies as a backstop for nightsticks and clubs.

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the news media and New Orleans itself were inundated with people who were willing to talk the talk. And from this gaggle of talkers emerged one who took the long walk with our city.

Brad Pitt found, after listening to residents, that this horrible man-made disaster created an opportunity to build something better than what had existed before. From starting the Make It Right Foundation, which is building hundreds of affordable and sustainable homes in the Lower Ninth Ward and elsewhere in the city, to his advocacy on behalf of New Orleans with congressional leaders to his filming of the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which featured our city so beautifully, Pitt has remained committed to the people of New Orleans. Read more. Thanks Sandra.

Added a compilation of Holmes in New Orleans. A program featuring Brad being interviewed about Make It Right and Holmes’ participation in the project. It follows Mr Holmes and his team as they build a home for one of the New Orleans families. Thanks Gabriella.

Also a video of Brad on the set of The Mexican talking about his costar Julia Roberts. Pressjunket for Interview with the Vampire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Mike Holmes managed to snag an A-list guest star – more like an A-plus, really – for his two-part TV special, Holmes in New Orleans, airing tonight and tomorrow at 9 p.m. on Global, to be followed Thursday by the first of a six-part spinoff series, to run consecutive Thursday nights at 8 on HGTV. Brad Pitt shows up early – tonight, in fact – in the new documentary chronicling the unprecedented rebuilding efforts of the Make it Right Foundation. As Holmes himself did in the Pitt-initiated project’s formative stages. It really all started … well, with Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 disaster that flooded almost 80 per cent of the historic city of New Orleans, taking more than 1,700 lives. Unlike many similar celebrity campaigns, Pitt’s resolutely pro-active Make it Right Foundation got right down to the business of rebuilding homes for Katrina’s many displaced survivors. All he needed was an experienced expert to oversee the effort. And as it happened, our own Holmes held the trademark for the “Make it Right” title, and has of course long shared Pitt’s commitment to charitable humanitarian action. Read more. Thanks Sandra. Is anyone able to record this program for SB in any way? Please contact me.

Global Television presents a two-hour, two-night special airing Tuesday, April 7 at 9pm ET/PT and Wednesday, April 8 at 9pm ET/PT – HGTV presents a six-hour, six-week series Thursdays at 8pm ET/PT beginning April 9 – Special appearance by Make It Right New Orleans founder Brad Pitt. Read more. Thanks Gabriella.

So, we have Brad Pitt and Mike Holmes in the same room. We understand the majority of females witnessing this scene probably would be more interested in Mr. Pitt. He is a famous, hunky Hollywood actor, after all. But we’re betting a lot of males would be far more interested in Mr. Holmes, who is known for his trademark overalls and his ability to save homeowners from renovation nightmares. Man-crushes all around! And truth be told, we know plenty of handy, hammer-swinging females who are infatuated with Mike Holmes, too. The notion of having Pitt and Holmes in the same room is not just a notion, by the way. It actually occurs in the two-part special Holmes in New Orleans, which airs on consecutive nights, Tuesday and Wednesday, on Global. Read more. Thanks Gabriella.