The first home designed by architect Frank Gehry for the Make it Right Foundation has debuted in the Lower Ninth Ward. The lavender and pink duplex reflects a simplicity from his early career.
Think of Frank Gehry’s work and the curved and titanium lines of the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum in Spain may come to mind; or the waving construction in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. But in the Lower Ninth Ward, his first home built in Louisiana, is simple angles. And it offers 700 square feet of porch space for each unit.
Homeowner Linda Santi is thrilled with her three-story home.
“I kind of started thinking through ‘What would it be like to try to utilize all this outdoor space?’ And I kind of worked my head around that a little bit, and finally I kind of convinced myself, what am I crazy? Of course I want the Frank Gehry design.”
Jordan Pollard is the research, design and development manager for Make it Right.
“We got a great quote from Frank. And he said that when he designed this house he tried to design a house he thought he could live in.”
The Gehry house matches the energy-efficiency standards of the Make it Right designs. It has solar panels, recycled materials and large windows designed to let in light while maintaining comfortable interior temperatures.
Santi says she expects to be living in her two-bedroom unit in a month or so, and will be looking for a tenant to rent the one-bedroom unit.
