Following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, Morphosis Architects partnered with students from UCLA to devise a revolutionary new home: it’s affordable, it’s green and it can float

In August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina left thousands of people in New Orleans homeless. Eighty per cent of the city was flooded, while more than 1,800 people lost their lives. The Lower Ninth Ward, a once-vibrant neighbourhood, was the hardest hit, with over 4,000 homes destroyed.

Many wondered if communities and homes could be rebuilt, particularly as government aid was slow to come. But a glimmer of hope came in the form of the Make It Right Foundation, founded by actor Brad Pitt in 2007, which launched a campaign to help rebuild the area. The push received a lot of support from local, national and international architects, many of whom donated designs to the foundation. One such design was a breakthrough in US construction history: the Float House was a collaborative project conceived by Morphosis Architects and students from UCLA, and is considered the first of its kind approved in the US.

Taking a new approach to mass-producing low-cost homes, the Float House is capable of rising from its base and floating while sustaining its own water and power needs.

Led by UCLA professor Thom Mayne, also the founder of Morphosis Architects, a team from the architecture firm and graduate students from UCLA Architecture and Urban Design undertook a novel approach through in-depth research, and connected to professional practice within the field.

The design and construction process saw the prefabrication of the components on campus in Los Angeles, which were then shipped to New Orleans for assembly.

The Float House was developed for the specific needs of Ninth Ward residents, but can be adapted to environmental issues caused by climate change anywhere. "The immense possibilities of the Make It Right initiative became immediately apparent to us: how to re-occupy the Lower Ninth Ward given its precarious ecological condition," says Mayne.

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