Islander builds the Katrina Cottage
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER
Michael Haigley is building a small cottage on his 229 Madaket Road property. At 308 square feet, this tiny structure is likely to be filled with summer guests and also serve as a space for his and his wife's various projects.

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent This isn't New Orleans and that's not André Duany, above, it's Nantucketer Michael Haigley who is building a Katrina Cottage in his backyard for his own use and to show Nantucket what is possible if houses are lost to storms or if one just desires to live more simply.

At 14 feet wide and 22 feet long with a small kitchen, living area, loft and basement, this cottage does not seem like it will handle more than these uses, but the origin of the true application of this little cottage is much more dynamic than a summer retreat.

Haigley is building what is known as a Katrina Cottage, a small house that can be massproduced for storm refugees displaced by tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other such natural calamities - hence the name. While attending a building trade show in Orlando, Fla. last year, Haigley, who is a member of the Congress of New Urbanism, a national smart growth organization, learned of the Katrina Cottage concept and decided to build one on his lot, both for his own use and to show Nantucketers the possibilities for simpler living and housing options after catastrophic storm events.

"These little cottages are small and they're designed to be a replacement for the FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Administration] trailers," said Haigley. "They're expandable and the cottages stay on the property forever. The idea was that they were small and they were inexpensive."

Miami architect and urbanist Andrés Duany came up with the concept for the Katrina Cottage in 2005 shortly after Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans and other Gulf Coast communities. Duany, according to "Katrina Cottages: One year later" by Jason Miller in the November/December issue of The Town Paper at www.tndtownpaper.com, had been invited by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour to lead a huge charrette - or brainstorming session - for designers to look at 11 Gulf Coast towns and come up with inexpensive but storm-proof housing solutions for storm victims who had lost their housing. New York designer Marianne Cusato came up with the original Katrina Cottage design.

"Today, little more than a year later, the Katrina Cottages have captured the hearts and minds of a growing segment of the general public," Miller said in his article. "The cottages are beginning to change the manufacturing industry. They're beginning to provide affordable housing that trumps the FEMA trailers in cost and aesthetics. They're spinning off into multiple uses that weren't even considered during the original charrette. They're attainable, attractive, dignified, cost-effective and timeless."

The cottages are designed to stand their ground against heavy wind and rain up to 140 miles per hour, meeting hurricane codes and the International Building Code. The home furnishing chain of Lowe's is the exclusive seller of Katrina Cottage plans and the supplies needed to build them. Lowe's offers four plans ranging in size from one-story 544-square-foot-cottages to two-story 936-squarefoot cottages.

Lowe's Katrina Cottage package includes all building materials except for the foundation and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Costs range from $45 to $55 per square foot. Of course, that is the mainland cost and is not adjusted for Nantucket.

"It's got a little bit of interest to Nantucket because you know we build some monstrous houses

here," said Haigley. "The idea here is smaller is

doable. It could be very energy efficient and it could be very useful for houses that are used six weeks at a time."

Naturally, Haigley did not build a New Orleansstyle cottage but his Nantucket version of it. It is the idea he thinks could work here.

"It's kind of a win-win situation for everybody [because] it's adjusted to wherever the region is,"

he said. I

BUILDING A KATRINA COTTAGE

If you're interested in exploring a Katrina Cottage for your own property, on Nantucket, the person to call is builder Michael Haigley at 508-364-7344.