Katrina cottages give families a 'feel of home'

The Katrina Cottage is a product of an October 2005 gathering of architects in Biloxi organized by Andres Duany, a Miami-based architect and prominent figure in the "New Urbanist" movement to curb suburban sprawl and create compact, walkable cities.

Duany, who challenged Cusato and other architects to design alternatives to FEMA trailers, drafted his own blueprint for a Katrina Cottage, a 770-square-foot model he unveiled in Chalmette, La., in March.

Mississippi and Louisiana both have embraced the cottages, but details of the government's pilot program are sketchy. Congress didn't specify what sort of alternative to FEMA trailers should be funded, and it's unclear whether the two states would share the federal money.

Gavin Smith, director of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's Office of Recovery & Renewal, said the state has 45 days to submit a proposal to FEMA for replacing trailers with "Mississippi cottages."

"Families should not be living in a travel trailer for upwards of five or 10 years while the coast is being rebuilt," Smith said. "Not only would (cottages) be more durable, but they would also replace the architectural styles of the homes we lost."

Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran also has pressed FEMA to embrace alternatives to trailers, but the agency has cited a federal law that prohibits it from providing disaster victims with what could be considered permanent housing.

"We're not interested in creating more trailer parks," Moran said. "We want to create cottage neighborhoods where the architecture resembles the coastal vernacular."

The Coastal Cabana
The Katrina Cottage already has competition from the Coastal Cabana, a 336-square-foot, prefabricated home designed by Hurricane Homes Inc. of Pascagoula. The company was building larger modular homes before Katrina, but the Aug. 29 hurricane inspired it to create a smaller design for storm victims. It has a porch, a living/dining room, bathroom and bedroom with a closet and optional space for a washer and dryer.

Hurricane multimedia Rising from Ruin MSNBC.com follows two towns as they rebuild after Katrina. Follow their progress through on-going stories and citizen diaries.

"This could be a disposable home, for $45,000," said Bruce Garceau, the company's CEO. "If you wanted a beach house — a smaller house on the beach with a larger home inland — this is perfect for you."

The Katrina Cottage and Coastal Cabana aren't just for disaster victims, their architects note. Cusato, for instance, said she is working with a Washington-based nonprofit group to design cottages for impoverished residents of a coastal town in Ghana.

"This was designed for storm victims, but it also could be a good solution for affordable housing nationwide," she said.

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