Brad Pitt post-Katrina housing project disaster timeline

Brad Pitt's plan to rebuild New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina has run into a slew of problems.The actor's Make It Right foundation has built more than 100 homes in the district, but residents have said that their properties are rotting, collapsing, and caving in.A federal lawsuit alleges that both Pitt and Make It right failed to alert homeowners of issues with the design and materials of the homes.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.Not long after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city of New Orleans in 2005, Brad Pitt devised a plan to rebuild the most devastated community, the Lower 9th Ward. In 2007, the actor formed the Make It Right foundation with the mission of constructing new homes that adhered to the highest standards of green building. He enlisted the help of world-renowned architects like Frank Gehry and David Adjaye, and outfitted the homes with solar panels, non-toxic paint, and energy-saving appliances. Read more: How to hurricane-proof your home, according to an architect who designs homes that could withstand Category 4 hurricanesThe message of Make It Right, he told the New Orleans Times-Picayune, was to transform a battered neighborhood into “a human success story on how we can build in the future.” Twelve years later, it's a lesson in the pitfalls of sustainable architecture. Residents now report that their units are rotting, collapsing, and caving in due to poor building materials. Some have experienced gas leaks, electrical fires, and mushrooms growing out of their walls — most likely the result of chronic rain and humidity. The foundation, which now faces a federal lawsuit, reportedly hasn't filed a tax form or built a home in years. Its website appears to be defunct. All the while, Pitt has remained silent, other than to reiterate his plan to help the Lower 9th rebuild. Take a look at the project's history.