Two years after the levees fell, the Lower 9th Ward is ready to rebuild. Zoning, building codes, flood elevations, geotechnical work, and financial assistance have all been set in place. and the need for professional architectural service in the neighborhood is imminent to ensure a safe, healthy and sustainable community.
The Design Studio at the Lower 9th Ward Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association (NENA) provides architectural and construction management services to current or returning residents of the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. The Design Studio guides residents throughout the entire rebuilding process including property assessment, zoning and code review, building design, cost estimating, drawings for obtaining building permits, contractor selections, bidding and contract negotiation, and construction management.
The goal of NENA is, simply, to bring back the people. The Design Studio is a natural outgrowth of that goal by empowering residents with all the information they need to rebuild.
Services:
By establishing over a dozen services to residents, the Design Studio is capable of entering a project at any stage of design and construction. This, coupled with standardized specifications, instructions for bidders, and contracts, allows the studio to serve the thousands of residents in need effectively and efficiently. In addition, it allows the Design Studio the ability to protect residents against predatory or unlicensed builders
Sustainability:
The Design Studio is an integral component of NENA's case management system and part of its Housing Development program which also includes gap finance, community land trust, and other building assistance. As such, the Design Studio has established sustainable design criteria to promote development throughout the Lower 9th Ward that balances social, economic and environmental benefit for all residents. These criteria are used not only to guide in-house design, but also as a guide for incoming developers, designers and builders who wish to help rebuild the Lower 9th sustainably.
Strategic Partners:
The Design Studio is reaching out to the local design community to create a base of designs and details to deal with the many challenges residents face while rebuilding in the lower 9th. The Tulane City Center, the local AIA chapter, Americorps, and the University of Minnesota are all among the many strategic partners working to help the Design Studio develop affordable and sustainable homes.
The Design Studio is made possible by start-up funding and support from Architecture for Humanity and the United Way. Research, project management, prototype design work, and web design has been made provided by Ben Gauslin via the Jane Jacobs Fellowship.
Location
- Accessibility
- Affordable/Cost-effective
- Buildings - Detached
- Climate - Tropical
- Context - Urban
- Disaster Mitigation - Flood-resistant
- Disaster Mitigation - Hurricane-resistant
- Disaster Reconstruction
- Energy - Efficiency
- Historic Preservation
- Low Maintenance
- Materials - Local/Indigenous
- Materials - Reused/Recycled
- Non-Profit/ Community-based
- Participatory Design
- Residential - Single Family
- Solar - Passive
- Architecture for Humanity
- design studio
- Hurricane Katrina
- United States
Comments
1. Design Services
a. Outcome: Since there were so many givens in the Lower 9th Ward with regards to site conditions, building codes, and programmatic needs, the Design Studio @ NENA was able to produce templates using Building Information Modeling along with basic principles of shape grammar in order to produce construction documents expeditiously. After established, schematic design, design development, construction documents, and full specifications would require about 10 total hours of staff time.
b. Beneficiaries: From October 2007 to February of 2008, the templates served 48 clients with 62 projects. To date, 39 projects have received schematic design service, 22 received construction documents, 13 obtained building permits, and 9 are either complete or under construction.
2. Design Guidelines
a. Outcome: Given the real threat of predatory development happening throughout the Lower 9th Ward, the Design Studio @ NENA established design criteria for economic, social, and environmental sustainability for any development. The Design Studio would then provide support to developers maintaining these criteria.
b. Beneficiaries: Six different development teams used the design criteria to begin the process of design for an estimated 135 new homes to be built over the course of the next three years.
3. Education and Outreach
a. Outcome: To aid NENA’s overall outreach efforts, the Design Studio generated a series of publications to help residents understand the design and building process in post-Katrina New Orleans. These guides included, How to Hire a General Contractor, How to Be Your Own General Contractor, A Budget and Timeline Guide for New Homes, A Directory of Residential Contractors and Surveyors, A Guide to Buying a Modular Home
b. Beneficiaries: Over 900 publications, in pamphlet form, have been taken or delivered to residents. Of those, approximately 60% included a brief consultation with a NENA staff person or architect.
4. Mapping
a. Outcome: In order to prioritize the Design Studio’s efforts, ongoing mapping exercises were performed to better understand the condition of existing housing stock, the proportionate need to new construction versus renovation, and to begin tracking the progress of rebuilding throughout the neighborhood. Additional mapping was also done to define target areas for potential development.
b. Beneficiaries: The initial survey assessed over 8,000 properties. Overlay maps were used by the Lower 9th Coalition which included representatives from 9 different neighborhood groups.
5. Contract Templates
a. Outcome: In response to predatory contractors, the Design Studio @ NENA produced templates for Architect-Owner Agreements, Owner-Contractor Agreements, Bidding Forms, and Outline Specifications.
b. Beneficiaries: The contract templates were used on any project pursued by the Design Studio which included 48 clients with 62 projects from October 2007 to February 2008.