Almost a year after the flood waters of Katrina decimated this city, piles of garbage still line the streets, the rotting remains of houses haunt neighborhoods and afforable housing is hard to find.

Pitt: I'm telling you, man, these people need help and are not being addressed like they should be. They are not getting the adequate support or the support fast enough.

To try and change the conditions still found in New Orleans, Brad Pitt joined forces with the non-profit group Global Green to sponsor an architectural competition to design a green 12-unit apartment complex.

Matt Petersen, Global Green CEO: One of the things we asked all of the designers to do is focus on energy use.

Brad and Global Green CEO Matt Petersen showed me the six finalists culled from more than 3000 registrants from all over the world. The first design was from Chicago.

“On the River”: Brian Foster and David Brininstool of Brininstool and Lynch, Chicago, Ill.

Petersen: This one did it interesting in the use of solar power and energy efficiency growing upon a creative idea of having a solar barge. That may or may not be feasible in the end, but it showed some creativity about how they wanted to approach the energy challenge.

The jury judging the entries picked designs that promised to generate as much energy as the buildings would consume.

Pitt: Understand, this is the way of the future. We've got to address these issues.  It's just a matter of time and we might as well start here. It's a great opportunity to do so, this rebuilding effort.

Curry: What convinces you that this is the wave of the future?

Pitt: Oh, because it's inevitable. The dependency on oil, the ... look at our gas prices. And the health rates. We just can't keep consuming ourselves into extinction. We've got to regroup and adopt a new paradigm, a new way of thinking.

The next finalist's design relies on newer green technology that uses the temperature of the earth to heat or cool the apartment.

“The Levee”: Drew Lang of Drew Lang Architects, New York, N.Y.

Petersen: They also draw upon a geothermal cooling and heating system, which in this area actually would work pretty well.

But many of the best green ideas are old ideas and that is what we saw in the third finalist, who uses a traditional New Orleans design called a shotgun loft to help cool the house with air flow and cross ventilation.

“NOLA ShotgunLOFT”: Fred Schwartz of Schwartz Architecture, New York, N.Y.

Petersen: Well there are a lot of natural shading and ventilation ideas that really stood out. The basic design of the shotgun loft is air circulation and cross ventaliation in the home.

The fourth finalist also uses the traditional shotgun loft design, He also designed all the living areas on the second floor in case New Orleans floods again.

“Rebuild Renew: Sustainable Design for the Holy Cross District”: Ken Gowland, New Orleans, La.

Pitt: It's from a local architect, which we were very happy that a local guy made it in. This one really draws on the venacular of New Orleans housing.

Gowland: We sort of used the historic types of buildings that we build in New Orleans, which makes sense not just from an aesthetic point but also in dealing with flooding, climate, heat.

All the entries rely heavily on the use of recycled and energy efficient materials, like flourescent lights and reclaimed wood and timber. But what stood out for the judges on this design is the way the green roof is incorporated into the plans.

“GreeN.O.LA”: Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen of Workshop/APD, New York, N.Y.

Pitt: In planting the roofs, they are good for one — capturing water and two — keeping the place clean. And it's relatively easy to do.

“Breathe”: Steve Dumez of Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, New Orleans, La.

The sixth finalist, also from New Orleans, designed windmills and river turbines to generate the electricity necessary to heat and cool the apartments.

Harnessing available energy is what Global Green wants builders everywhere to do.

Pitt: Yeah, again the change in thought is more ... it's more harnessing the available energy that's there.

Curry: You know what's really interesting about this is that this kind of thinking is oftentimes just reserved ... it's reserved for rich people, yet this kind of ...

Petersen: Right, and it's a real misconception. I mean, just the whole green movement is ... it's kind of misunderstood. There's a real stigma with ... that it's for the rich and that it's about tree hugging and saving whales. But there are these benefits, but it goes so far beyond that.  And it's really a question of our way of life. And can we live healthier.

Pitt: What if a city could actually produce more energy than it consumed? What if it could actually filter the air instead of pollute the air? And this is a new paradigm that we're gonna have to adopt. It's a long time coming, but we gonna have to start now and start advancing these technologies.

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