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Creating an island
of sanity in a sea of destruction. A white picket fence and a
border of potted flowers enclose Ron's 240-square-foot FEMA trailer.
But outside the fence, "The Katrina
Cottage shows how we can create beautiful and affordable homes
that give people a place of pride." She stands on the ramp
leading to her smallest version of the cottage, on display in
downtown Ocean Springs, Mississippi, while residents stop by
to look inside. Marianne put her career of creating traditional
homes on hold to bring beautiful design to the Katrina Cottage.
"I've designed closets that are the size of this The tiny cottage is just the first step for long-term housing to replace the approximately 99,000 occupied FEMA trailers in Louisiana and Mississippi. Local Ocean Springs architects Bruce Tolar and Michael LeBatard are planning a neighborhood of 17 cottages that embrace the "New Urbanist" philosophy of walkable and compact towns whose architecture fits the local vernacular. "People need something in the range of 700 to 1,200 square feet for permanent housing," says Bruce. "The first Katrina Cottage proved we can design an affordable house with humanity-we want to build on that concept." |
scattered
debris sits on concrete slabs where cozy 1950s cottages once
stood overlooking the Gulf in Long Beach, Mississippi. Like many
new residents of FEMA housing, Ron and Jasmine are happy to have
a roof over their heads, but some of their neighbors question
how long anyone can remain positive living in a travel trailer.
A group of architects and designers, empowered by recent creative
gatherings called charrettes, think they have the answer. Their
idea for housing on the Gulf 
Coast
is the Katrina Cottage-a sturdy and well-designed permanent structure
that can be built for the equivalent cost of a FEMA trailer.
cottage,
but my heart wasn't in it," says Marianne. "What I've
always wanted to do is create a new version of the Sears, Roebuck
kit home, and the time was right. How can storm victims start
over if they don't have a place to get clean and feel safe?"