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Home / Architecture / Make It Right, Affordable, Sustainable Housing Prototype for Lower 9 in New Orleans

The Lagniappe House

Client: Make It Right: Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans

A lagniappe, in southern Louisiana culture, is an unexpected gift or benefit – a little something extra thrown in as a show of gratitude. The Lagniappe House was designed with a flexible and functional floor plan that weaves together indoor and outdoor spaces into a tapestry of uses and possible re-uses that will enhance the owners’ lives for years to come. The Cradle to Cradle concept was applied throughout as evidenced in the building orientation, the selection of materials, the management of energy and water, and the features provided to promote passive survivability in the event of another catastrophe.

Social and Cultural Revitalization
Not only were families’ lives and homes destroyed in the aftermath of the hurricanes, but the rich cultural fabric of the Lower 9th Ward community was torn apart as well. The Make it Right project will address more than post Katrina and Rita recovery. The rebuilding of the Lower 9th Ward neighborhood is an opportunity to send a new message - from transition to transformation. Like the butterfly that grows from egg to larvae to chrysalis and finally to a graceful butterfly, the residents of the lower ninth ward are poised for a new paradigm of dignity and quality of life.

Inside-Outside Living
Much of the community interaction for the residents of the Lower 9th Ward, as in most of New Orleans, takes place on the front porches of neighborhoods – “stoop-sitting” as its known. The challenge with an elevated house is to provide a comfortable place that facilitates casual encounters when the main level is a story above the street. The Lagniappe House accomplishes this in several ways.

A shaded driveway and wide inviting steps lead to an elevated front porch. Each resident will have the opportunity to choose from an “attached” or “detached” porch design with an “in between” courtyard also provides for additional landscaping and cross ventilation. An additional design option provides for a “flat” or “sloped”’ front porch roof design.

The front porch steps have been designed as a “stoop” with lots of places to sit and “hang out”. Under the porch is a fenced in room where chairs and tables can be stored for front yard parties and crawfish boils. Included in this under-the-porch room is a double sink for storing ice and for food preparation. With these tools, the front yard and driveway can include more opportunities for front yard gardening and entertaining.

Raising houses in the Make It Right neighborhood also provides an a opportunity to develop a new backyard culture enhanced by a shaded verandah created under the house. In the Lagniappe House, this “outside room” is located below the rear of the house with direct access to the kitchen above by a covered outside stair.

On the second floor, a more private family deck in the center of the house provides another room on the south side, which could also foster more communications with the next-door neighbors. Small rear decks are also provided for all bedrooms. All of these decks can also serve as an area of rescue in the case of emergencies.

Multi-zoned Living Areas
The Lagniappe House, by virtue of its long, narrow shape, will accommodate many activities at once ranging from the crawfish boil in the front driveway to grandma making gumbo in the kitchen and the baby napping in the back room. Secured access to the more private zones of the site is provided by the fence and optional garage door at the carport. The third story bedroom addition can be easily converted to an efficiency apartment by means of a separate entrance from the south-side deck. The space reserved for a future lift can be used as a pantry off the kitchen and as additional secured storage below the house.

Sweat Equity
The Lagniappe House has been designed to accommodate self actuated preferences for future growth. Roof slopes as well as stair and lift locations have been designed to provide ample attic space to accommodate initial mechanical equipment as well as an additional bedroom, loft, bath and storage. These additions can be accomplished as a part of the initial construction or incrementally through owner provided or volunteer “sweat equity”.

Personal Security
Residents of New Orleans are well aware of the personal dangers presented by the city’s high crime rate. It is for this reason that the non-public spaces of the Lagniappe House are enclosed by a 7 foot fence with two inch slots to accommodate water flow. Access to the house is designed with a system of “double entries”. One access point is through the secured carport at the ground level. Here the resident will drive their locked car through a remotely controlled garage door which will then close automatically behind them. From there they will have a secured passage through a second locked door at the ground level that leads directly up a set of interior stairs to the kitchen.

The second point of access is up the front steps and onto the front porch, through a locked gate and then to a second set of locked doors at either the living room or kitchen.

Flood Resistance
The lower level of the Lagniappe House is designed to allow moving water to flow around the piers and is devoid of structural walls that could be pushed over in a flood. The main level is elevated 8’-8” above grade – more than 3’ above the FEMA-mandated elevation. The recommended exterior material, stucco over aerated autoclaved concrete (AAC) has submersion-resistant qualities in addition to its fire-resistive, sound-mitigating, insulating, and insect-proof benefits.

Environmental Considerations
The main roof slope of the Lagniappe House is oriented to the south to maximize the collection area for future photovoltaic panels. The north-facing slopes will feature either manually or thermally operated windows that admit gentle daylight into the rooms and release built-up heat. Passive ventilation is augmented by low south-side windows for capturing the prevailing summer winds, high ceilings, and ceiling fans. Even in a region that suffers from too much water sometimes, the community can benefit from rainwater collection for non-potable uses by reducing the energy needed to deliver municipal water and by providing families a source of sterilize-able drinking water in an emergency. Likewise, a grey-water cistern below the house can store wastewater suitable for use in the garden, further reducing loads imposed on the fragile drainage infrastructure. Shaded decks on the south side are designed to reduce solar heat gain in the summer while inviting the warming winter sun.

Materials and Equipment
When at all possible, the building materials and equipment proposed for the Lagniappe House are sourced from manufacturers within 500 miles of New Orleans who incorporate recycled materials and avoid hazardous ingredients. Refer to the materials and equipment schedule for a complete listing. What follows are some highlights:
• The AAC exterior walls and floor deck mentioned above, besides being a cavity-free construction, have the added benefit of being recycle-able after demolition and remade into new AAC units, which in turn are manufactured in a closed-loop process. Because they are factory-made to suit, there is little jobsite waste.
• The galvalume metal “cool roofing” optimizes rainwater collection while minimizing solar heat gain. The roof assembly is completed by FSC certified OSB decking and lumber framing, spray foam soy insulation, and recycled content gypsum ceiling boards to provide a thermal envelope within.
• Interior finishes are from recycled-content materials installed with low-VOC adhesives including EnviroGlas counters, reclaimed local wood flooring, and American Pride Zero VOC paint.
• With high-performance Pella windows, EnergyStar appliances and lighting, and high-efficiency mechanical equipment, the Lagniappe House will seek to reduce energy demand in all of its systems. The first HVAC system under consideration is a Daikin multi-split ductless system that allows room-by-room zone control. The second one is a standard ducted system within the thermal envelope with a SEER rating of 18 or more. Hot water will be provided by a tank-less on-demand unit or with a combination of solar how water and a tankwater heater with an EF of 95 or more

Artist Collaboration
In the spirit of celebration that comes with renewal, the Lagniappe House will feature, at the owner’s request, murals, floor patterns and other creative works by Young Aspirations / Young Artists, Inc., a non-profit arts and social service organization whose mission is to provide educational experiences and opportunities that empower artistically talented inner-city youth to be professionally self-sufficient through creative self-expression

Geometry
The Lagniappe House has been designed to maximize the use of solar energy and natural daylighting. A large 30 degree south facing roof slope provides an efficient surface for solar collectors. The edges of some of the small hip roofs reflect indirect sunlight into courtyards and other living spaces. A trellised gallery covered with deciduous plants and vines shields the south wall from direct sunlight in the summer but “opens” to let in the sun’s warming rays during the winter months. Some of the walls in the house have angles that work functionally as well as aesthetically to increase the width of hallways where needed, such as for handicap accessibility, as well as to provide more pleasing and expansive views to outside spaces.