
Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans with furious and deadly force this month ten years ago - and no celebrity is more attuned to the anniversary than Brad Pitt.

Pitt, who recently listed his and Angelina Jolie's five-bedroom French Quarter home for $6.5 million, has been working to rebuild destroyed houses in the hard-hit Lower Ninth Ward since the monster hurricane left its path of destruction.

'We went into it incredibly naïve,' the megastar told the New Orleans Times-Picayune, 'just thinking we can build homes - how hard is that?'

A lot harder than he thought, it turns out. But that didn't stop him, nor the area's residents, from plugging along, and now Pitt is thrilled that 109 colorful, sturdy, ecofriendly homes dot the land that following Katrina was nothing but mud and debris and torn-apart lives.

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Superstar Brad Pitt with two cuties from the Lower Ninth Ward (above) in New Orleans, where his foundation Make It Right has built 109 homes in the area decimated after Hurricane Katrina

A woman raises her arms in joy in front of her brightly painted house in the Lower Ninth Ward, built by Brad Pitt's Make It Right foundation

Pitt said he is thrilled to see people in the once-devastated area sitting on the porches of their new spectacularly-built homes

'I get this well of pride when I see this little oasis of color and the solar panels,' the dad of six told the paper.

As a part-time NOLA resident and amateur architecture enthusiast, Pitt wanted his foundation, Make It Right, to build homes that not only suited the residents' needs, but were well-designed, environmentally-friendly, and not only cheap to make, but to live in.

'I drive into the neighborhood and I see people on their porch, and I ask them how is their house treating them? And they say, 'Good.' And I say what's your utility bill? And they'll throw something out like, '24 bucks' or something, and I feel fantastic.'

Pitt was also able to use his considerable powers of persuasion to lure some of the world's best architects, including Shigeru Ban, Thom Mayne, and even Frank Gehry, to design some of the futuristic homes.

The area has become one of New Orleans' tourist attractions.

But it wasn't easy getting to this point - Pitt says that he had no concept of the bureaucratic snags he would have to hurdle, including forgivable loan structures, family financial counseling, lot rights, and HUD grants.

When Hurricane Katrina made land on August 23, 2005, the Lower Ninth Ward was one of the hardest hit and residents were devastated

Putting his money where his mouth is: Pitt doesn't just talk, he does - here he views the destruction left behind by Hurricane Katrina

Pitt visiting the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans in 2006 during a trip to lobby government officials to increase the speed of reconstruction

The brightly-colored clean area is now a far cry from the horrific debris and body-stewn area it was right after the hurricane (above)

The bright homes replace the scenes of destruction (above) that littered the area after Hurricane Katrina blew through New Orleans

The blight left behind by Hurricane Katrina has now been replaced by 109 brightly colored modern homes designed by top designers

The 9th Ward six months after Hurricane Katrina... and very little has changed. Most of the homes and businesses still stood empty

Brangelina's brood: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's six kids have spent plenty of time in New Orleans, where the couple have a home

He was also determined to make the homes aesthetically pleasing and allow the residents to give their input - after all, they were the ones who would be living there.

'The inhabitants, the families are the ones who designed the neighborhood,' the 'World War Z' star said. 'They had choices in front of them. They picked the houses to suit their needs. They picked the colors.'

The homes, with their sharp angles and modern aesthetic, were going to look much different from the typical baroque NOLA fare, but Pitt was also determined to make the homes environmentally sustainable.

'You do not have to build low-income housing with the cheapest materials that keep families in a poverty trap,' he said. 'Whether that be running up high utility bills or with toxic materials that run up your doctor bills. It doesn't have to be that way.'

Hard hat: Pitt got on the ground in New Orleans and worked closely with the architects and builders to make sure the homes were up to snuff

'We went into it incredibly naïve,' Pitt told the Times-Picayune of thinking that he could just go in and start building homes - but they did

Not just a pretty face: Pitt is an architecture fanatic who knew exactly what he wanted in the homes - and wanted residents involved too

Pitt made sure that the residents got to pick their own colors for their homes and decide how high they wanted the houses to be off the ground

Grateful residents pose outside their new homes - their smiles a far cry from the emotional trauma they suffered after the hurricane

At first the angular modern homes looked like aliens in the NOLA nabe but now the area is one of the more popular tourist attractions

These children, born after the hurricane, can enjoy a stable upbringing in lovely surroundings instead of enduring appalling living conditions

The interior of the new homes built by Make It Right are every bit as modern and pleasing to the eye as the exteriors

The homes were built with new appliances, chef kitchens, and stainless steel fridges and stoves, making the interiors just as homey as the exteriors. Pitt said he did not feel the homes had to be made cheaply and keep people in a 'cycle of poverty'

Pitt says he gets a kick out of driving to the ward and asking people how their homes (interiors, above) are treating them

Brad and Angelina's big family (above) doesn't stop them from giving back to the community - especially New Orleans

Pitt (above) stands smiling on the wrap-around porch of his and Angelina's French Quarter home, which they bought for $2.3million and now have on the market for more than double that

Brad Pitt and wife Angelina Jolie (see here shopping at the Pippen Lane childrens emporium in NOLA) have made the historic city their second home

Pitt says that rebuilding the neighborhood cost $26.8 million, for an average of $150,000 per home.

The cash for the project came from federal loans and donations. It's unclear if Pitt used any of his personal income to make the project come true - but he certainly put in his time.

Pitt said he will be off making a movie, the specifics of which he wouldn't divulge other than that it is a 'satirical' film about war, during the tenth anniversary. However, he says he looks forward to coming back to the city to film.

'New Orleans is such a great place to shoot and the rebates are phenomenal, so it's not a big fight with the studios,' he said. 'They're more than happy for us to get back down there. It's a very rich place to shoot. It's my excuse to get back there.'

Pitt was able to secure some of the world's best known architects, including Shigeru Ban, Thom Mayne, and even Frank Gehry, for his Make It Right project

The homes are ecofriendly and have solar panels, helping to keep utility costs down - Pitt says one resident told him her bill was $24 a month