Marianne Cusato
Encyclopedia
Marianne Cusato is a designer
, educator, author
, and urban designer based in Greenwich Village
in New York City
. She was the designer of the 300 square feet (27.9 m²) "Katrina Cottage
," conceived in 2005 as an alternative to the FEMA
emergency trailers supplied to some of the newly-homeless survivors of Hurricane Katrina
along the Mississippi Gulf Coast
. In 2006 Cusato entered into a licensing agreement with the Lowe's
Home Centers to make the cottages available in kit form in all Lowe's stores nationwide or the plans alone online.
and raised in Anchorage, Alaska
and in Kenai
on the Cook Island
side of the Kenai Peninsula
. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture
from the University of Notre Dame
and has said of Notre Dame, “What I learned from Notre Dame was ‘how to learn.’”
detailing. Of the lessons learned there she has said, "You need to know the rules before you know which ones to break."
In October 2005 Haley Barbour
, then Governor of Mississippi
, hired New Urbanist planner Andres Duany
to advise him regarding the rebuilding effort. Duany invited a team of architects, including Cusato, to spend part of October with him in Biloxi, Mississippi
at the Mississippi Renewal Forum
.
The architects were challenged to design an alternative to the FEMA trailers then in use. Cusato designed a vernacular
, traditional-looking, 300 square feet (27.9 m²) hurricane-proof house which became known as “the little yellow house” and which won numerous awards and is
sold in kit form nationwide at Lowe's
The design earned her numerous industry and humanitarian awards, among them a People’s Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.” Of the cottage Duany said, "People fell in love with it."
"Is Small the New Big?"
Cusato is a member of The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America and is a consultant for developers, builders, and architects designing and building traditional buildings. She is a proponent of building design that reflects and values classical design in addition to the architectural history of its prospective inhabitants. She is an outspoken architecture critic and theorist and has authored or co-authored two books on architecture and design.
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
, educator, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and urban designer based in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She was the designer of the 300 square feet (27.9 m²) "Katrina Cottage
Katrina Cottage
Katrina Cottages are small residential shelters designed and marketed in the United States in the wake of Hurricane Katrina . They were designed as a response to the inadequacies of the trailers issued to flood victims by the Federal Emergency Management Agency...
," conceived in 2005 as an alternative to the FEMA
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
emergency trailers supplied to some of the newly-homeless survivors of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
along the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Mississippi Gulf Coast
The Mississippi Gulf Coast refers to the three Mississippi counties which lie on the Gulf of Mexico: Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties.The region was severely damaged by Hurricane Camille in 1969 and again by Hurricane Katrina in 2005....
. In 2006 Cusato entered into a licensing agreement with the Lowe's
Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in...
Home Centers to make the cottages available in kit form in all Lowe's stores nationwide or the plans alone online.
Early life and education
Cusato was born in 1974and raised in Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
and in Kenai
Kenai
-Places:* Kenai, Alaska, a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska* Kenai Peninsula, a large peninsula in south-central Alaska* Kenai River, a river on the Kenai Peninsula* Kenai Mountains, a mountain range in Alaska* Kenai Fjords National Park...
on the Cook Island
Cook Island
Cook Island may refer to* Cook Island, South Sandwich Islands, central island in Southern Thule* Cook Island of Kiritimati, Kiribati* Cook Islands, self governing democracy in the Pacific, in free association with New Zealand, of which "Cook Island" is the adjectival demonym* Cook Island Aquatic...
side of the Kenai Peninsula
Kenai Peninsula
The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is probably derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west.-Geography:...
. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture
Bachelor of Architecture
The Bachelor of Architecture is an undergraduate academic degree designed to satisfy the academic component of professional accreditation bodies, to be followed by a period of practical training prior to professional examination and registration. It is awarded for a course of study that lasts up...
from the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
and has said of Notre Dame, “What I learned from Notre Dame was ‘how to learn.’”
Designer
Cusato moved to New York in 1999, taking a job with the firm Fairfax and Sammons, designers of expensive houses with classicalClassical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
detailing. Of the lessons learned there she has said, "You need to know the rules before you know which ones to break."
In October 2005 Haley Barbour
Haley Barbour
Haley Reeves Barbour is an American Republican politician currently serving as the 63rd Governor of Mississippi. He gained a national spotlight in August 2005 after Mississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Barbour won re-election as Governor in 2007...
, then Governor of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, hired New Urbanist planner Andres Duany
Andrés Duany
Andrés Duany is an American architect and urban planner.Duany was born in New York City but grew up in Cuba until 1960. He attended The Choate School and received his undergraduate degree in architecture and urban planning from Princeton University...
to advise him regarding the rebuilding effort. Duany invited a team of architects, including Cusato, to spend part of October with him in Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
at the Mississippi Renewal Forum
Mississippi Renewal Forum
The Mississippi Renewal Forum was a design charrette in which over 200 community leaders and design professionals worked together to plan the rebuilding of the Mississippi Coast post-hurricane Katrina. In the course of a week in October 2005, the charrette’s design teams generated new plans and...
.
The architects were challenged to design an alternative to the FEMA trailers then in use. Cusato designed a vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
, traditional-looking, 300 square feet (27.9 m²) hurricane-proof house which became known as “the little yellow house” and which won numerous awards and is
sold in kit form nationwide at Lowe's
Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in...
The design earned her numerous industry and humanitarian awards, among them a People’s Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.” Of the cottage Duany said, "People fell in love with it."
Educator, Public Speaker, Author
Cusato is a public speaker on topics including "The Value of Design," "Sustainability: Community, Home, Architecture, Materials," "Affordable Housing," "Gulf Coast Rebuilding," "Katrina Cottage," "Get Your House Right," and"Is Small the New Big?"
Cusato is a member of The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America and is a consultant for developers, builders, and architects designing and building traditional buildings. She is a proponent of building design that reflects and values classical design in addition to the architectural history of its prospective inhabitants. She is an outspoken architecture critic and theorist and has authored or co-authored two books on architecture and design.
External links
- Marianne Cusato's Websites. http://www.cusatocottages.com/, http://www.MarianneCusato.com/, http://www.NewEconomyHome.com/
- Editorial, "FEMA still doesn't get it: Katrina Cottages," Akansas Democrat Gazette, Feb. 25, 2006. Accessed April 12, 2008.http://www.iwprgroup.com/arkansasdemocrat.htm