Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Biennale Features Ideas to Rebuild New Orleans

From the Turkish Daily News:

"After the flood: Building on higher ground" shows 10 projects designed by nine Americans and a Turkish architect to reconstruct New Orleans which was flooded when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the city on Aug. 29, 2005, overpowering protective barriers that buckled under the huge weight of water.

"A year ago, just after the hurricane, the city was devastated and there were (rebuilding) initiatives in every which direction. We launched this competition to make people work together on a post-Katrina architecture," the exhibition's curator Christian Bruun told AFP.

"This is not just about a basic reconstruction. The whole relationship between architecture and the environment must be reconsidered," he said.

"New Orleans is condemned to flooding and hurricanes so we should explore new ideas and use new technologies so that for once and for all we find a solution to allow people to live there," Bruun said.

Among the projects displayed on the pavilion's walls is an adaptable house on stilts sitting three meters (yards) above ground.

Another architect imagined a house that would rise above the ground only when a weather alert had been issued.

Follow the link at the top of this post to read the entire story.

To find out more about the Biennale, go to its website.

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