Everhouse: A new plan for post-Katrina homes - By Paul Sedan, Christian Science Monitor
John Sawyer’s vision for the next phase of Katrina recovery revolves around a simple home.
Three years after hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the Gulf Coast, housing remains a major problem in the region. There’s a shortage of skilled labor to build new homes, insurance rates have skyrocketed, and most federal aid for temporary housing expired this year.
Mr. Sawyer’s response: the Everhouse, a single-family home built from concrete wall panels that are wind-, fire-, mold-, and pest-resistant. About $68 per square foot, the Everhouse is about half the cost of affordable housing in some Gulf Coast cities.