OUR FIRST PROJECT
Rebuild Green and Invest Construction are partnering to rebuild on at least six lots in one block of Desire Street in New Orleans' Upper 9th Ward.
The lots are owned by Margaret Doyle-Johnston, a longtime activist in her Upper 9th Ward community, or by close relatives of hers. The project is named after Margaret's grandfather, Richard Asbury, who used hand-tools to construct four houses on the block more than 80 years ago. All of Richard Asbury's four houses of hand-sawn tongue-and-groove houses withstood the major Hurricanes and floods that struck New Orleans in the decades subsequent to their construction.
Below are snapshots of stages of deconstruction of the house at 2524 Desire Street by Rebuild Green workers. About 4000 linear feet of red-pine sapling walls, floor and ceiling were reclaimed in this two-week-long deconstruction.
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| “The Asbury House”, built by Margaret Doyle-Johnston’s grandfather, Richard Asbury, in 1921 |
Interior of tongue-and-groove “bead-board” walls, floor and ceiling, all of hand-sawn red pine sapling |
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| Fred gets after tongue-and-groove bead-board in the ceiling |
Walls gone, reclaimed bead-board waiting for pick-up |
As soon as possible Rebuild Green and Invest Construction will begin to build a new home for Margaret and her extended family at 2524 Desire. The new house will be built of structural integrated panels (SIPs) that use recycled styrofoam. It will be equipped with solar panels on its roof and deck and will draw from installation of a neighborhood geothermal system to provide 100% of its needs for air-conditioning and heating. Its living quarters will be elevated eight feet to better withstand the next storm and flood.
Rendering below by our partner, Futureproof, shows an image for the initial house on the 2500 block. The entire block will be served by geo-thermal installations.
Invest Construction is a company started by Malik Rahim, co-founder of the Common Ground Collective, to train and employ low-income populations in the construction trades and thus make them integral to the renovation of neighborhoods. Invest Construction already employs forty-one individuals at the Woodlands Apartment complex on the West Bank of New Orleans (the Algiers district) that the Common Ground Collective has managed since June 1, 2006.
With the help of like-minded individuals, companies and organizations, Rebuild Green and Invest Construction expect to build more than 500 elevated homes that use recycled materials and renewable energy-systems over the next tweleve months.
