Pitt stops by New Orleans construction site

Actor Brad Pitt dropped in to New Orleans, Louisiana on Tuesday to see how work is progressing on the construction of five energy-efficient homes he designed.

The Ocean's Eleven star, who has a home in the city with girlfriend Angelina Jolie, chaired the design jury on the properties for the Global Green USA project.

The homes will be 100 per cent efficient, producing their own electricity, and form part of a development of 18 apartments and a community centre in the Ninth Ward district of New Orleans.

The area was left devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Pitt tells website People.com: "It's hard to claim an overall victory when you see how slowly it's still moving."

He adds: "We knew we couldn't bring back the families and friends who were lost, bring back the heirlooms and pictures, but maybe, in the process of rebuilding, we could build something smarter to create a better way of life.

"Katrina was a man-made disaster. This house here is a man-made solution."