New Orleans, LA

In relation to our work on a sustainable neighborhood plan for Plum Orchard, New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, our local partner, ACORN Housing, commissioned Gans and Company and DARCH to jointly design a variety of new housing types for over 350 properties in New Orleans East and The Lower Ninth.

The house types accommodate a variety of family arrangements and also relationships to the ground, which is key to their use in flood plains. They come with a choice in roofline, providing opportunities to adapt to neighborhood context and for self-expression. The houses are designed to be either pre-fabricated or stick built, taking into consideration the competing needs for mass production and also the employment of local labor. Both construction methods produce houses that use passive systems of light and ventilation to ensure their environmental performance under all conditions.

See our work on Plum Orchard.

Project Team:

Gans and Company: Deborah Gans, Jocelyn Elliott

DARCH: James Dart, Joe Jang, Gary Spanier

Structural Engineer: Avegno Balley and Associates

Selected Awards and Publications:

“What Does it Mean to be Safe?” LOG 52