There are two very good reasons to pick up January’s edition of Architectural Digest. First, Brad Pitt is on the cover. Second, Brad Pitt is on the cover. Well, close enough. The second reason has more to do with Charlottesville: architect William McDonough’s take on sustainability.
The cover story highlights the work Pitt has done to rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward in battered New Orleans. Huge Hollywood star by day, and architecture aficionado by night, Pitt has devoted time and $5 million out of his own pocket to construct affordable, sustainable homes that are elevated and feature rooftop escape hatches. The cost of the homes won’t exceed $150,000.
Who better to help Pitt in this endeavor, but Charlottesville’s own William McDonough?
“Why can’t we redefine how we do things?” said Pitt. “Not to change our way of life, but to change the way we do things.” In fact, McDonough’s Cradle to Cradle philosophy starts with thinking of the future as recyclable.
“My job,” McDonough told C-VILLE back in 2006, “is to speak of the future in the present tense. And to imagine the exquisitely perfect in order to achieve the practically impossible.”
Pitt admits to Architectural Digest that his star power gets him access to other hot shots when he wants it. “I know that there are people out there who will take my calls,” he said. McDonough was one of them.
If Brad Pitt were calling, would you pick up the phone?
Brad Pitt fell for New Orleans while filming Interview with the Vampire in the 1990s. Pitt’s new movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, was also shot in the Big Easy, where he’s focusing his efforts as a design-minded philanthropist with the help of local eco-architect William McDonough.