Archinect - News

SO – IL and OSD to overhaul Detroit marina for new waterfront district

2024-04-30T11:45:00-04:00

SO – IL and OSD have designed a new waterfront district for Detroit’s Little Village. The marina overhaul, named Stanton Yards, will see the existing storage and service-based site transformed into a 13-acre cultural destination with 80,000 square feet of commercial and creative space, 85 boat slips, and waterfront parks.

Image credit: bloomimages

SO – IL will lead the adaptive reuse of four existing pre-war industrial buildings, which historically housed a former theater, marina showrooms, service ships, and a navy shipyard used during World War II. Select demolition and the addition of “unifying elements and upgrades to accessibility” will create a campus for arts organizations, retail, artist studios, and hospitality.

Image credit: bloomimages

“The ethos that 'new ideas must use old buildings' guides our transformation of Stanton Yards into a thriving, multifaceted community,” said Florian Idenburg, Co-founding Principal of SO – IL, about the scheme. “Our design ingrains four histo...

KPF presents Detroit's new University of Michigan Center for Innovation design

2024-04-05T15:15:00-04:00

A new project in Detroit from Kohn Pedersen Fox will deliver the University of Michigan's Center for Innovation (UMCI), a six-story academic research and teaching facility that is expected to open by the spring of 2027.

Construction has already commenced for the $250 million development, which will be delivered at 200,000 square feet in advance of two other “incubator” and residential structures that will follow at a later date on the four-acre site. The university says the UMCI will serve a host of purposes and is primarily intended for workforce development and different graduate degree programs.

Atrium view. Image credit: Kohn Pedersen Fox

KPF Design Principal Hana Kassem describes: “The UMCI is a catalyst for positive change and, as such, presents itself along Grand River Avenue as a ‘gateway for innovation. It proudly bears the University of Michigan spirit focusing on progress and inclusivity which is embodied in its dynamic forward-leaning form and the portal that cuts through...

Peterson Rich Office transforms former church into an inviting new cultural center in Detroit's East Village

2024-03-12T18:18:00-04:00

The adaptive reuse design for the Shepherd Gallery and Art Center inside the new Little Village in Detroit has been revealed ahead of its public opening on May 18th.

The project from Peterson Rich Office (PRO) transformed a 110-year-old former church into a new cultural center for the local Library Street Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to presenting art in the city's revitalized heritage spaces. It was executed at 16,000 square feet and culminates in two new galleries with a small library, classrooms, and workshop included for local community endeavors.

View of the Charles McGee Legacy Park and the Shepherd. Photo by Jason Keen. Courtesy of Library Street Collective.

In terms of its interior redesign, the architects chose to place an exhibition area in the transept mezzanine while making the altar below into another gallery open for performance and public gatherings. The church's other transept now houses a curated Little Village Arts Library space from Asmaa Walton. A landscaped...

Gordie Howe International Bridge construction: Opening delayed to September 2025

2024-01-09T17:04:00-05:00

The completion date for the delayed Gordie Howe International Bridge has been pushed back to September 2025, according to the Detroit Free Press.

A public announcement put out by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority detailed the progress that’s been made since the project commenced in late 2018.

Since that time, the bridge’s road deck construction, stay cable installation, and Port of Entry facilities have progressed successfully. Completion of the road deck, stay cable installations, and ancillary Port of Entry outbuildings will follow in the coming year. The finalization of the operations process is then anticipated for the year after.

"After a three-year pandemic and considering the size and complexity of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, our project team is pleased that the impact to the construction schedule is limited to only 10 months beyond the original contracted com...

Detroit installs America's first wireless EV charging track

2023-12-08T12:24:00-05:00

Detroit has debuted an EV charging roadway concept from Electreon inside of its new Michigan Central Station innovation district they say represents a “major milestone in the future of mobility” as the first-ever wireless charging roadway in America.

The quarter-mile track through the city’s Corktown neighborhood was developed by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) after being announced by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in February of 2022. The track will serve as a five-year test pilot for the anticipated boom in EVs that are expected to hit the road in the next decade, cornering about half of the total market by the year 2035.

Similar concepts are been developed in Europe by Electreon, which hopes to open the new, eventually one-mile-long Detroit track to the public next year. The installation was also made possible by Ford (backers of the Michigan Central project), Jacobs, DTE, KIEWIT, Next Energy, and ROUSH CleanTech.

Related on Archinect: Detroit to host first public w...

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects to deliver $122M Detroit Music Hall expansion

2023-10-24T12:26:00-04:00

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA) has been attached to a major new expansion of the historic Detroit Music Hall, the firm announced on Monday. The project aims to connect an important part of downtown to a burgeoning economic revitalization while providing Detroiters with a “canvas to express the energy and creativity for which the city is globally recognized.”

At seven stories and a total of 100,000 square feet, the new Detroit Music Hall Center will sit next to the existing 95-year-old Wilson Theater and offers the public a 1,900-seat main concert hall, 200-seat recital hall, offices, rooftop restaurant, music academy educational component, and a 4,000-square-foot activated public outdoor area.

In terms of its design, the building utilizes an LED-lit perforated metal rain screen facade to cast itself and its twin as the vibrant cultural anchors for new development in the neighborhood. The duality between industrial daytime activities and the city’s nightlife scene is f...

A public interest design fellowship for young designers has opened at the University of Detroit Mercy’s Detroit Collaborative Design Center

2023-07-26T13:27:00-04:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for a Designer at Boffi, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an opportunity on Archinect Jobs for a Public Interest Design (PID) Fellowship at the University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit Collaborative Design Center.

The 18-month fellowship, based in Detroit, calls for “young designers who are eager to gain experience in public interest design.” Among the responsibilities for the role are collaborating with the center’s wider team and partners on community engagement, design development, and project deliverables, as well as attending conferences and participating in training from senior mentors.

Why the role interests us

The fellowship at the Detroit Collaborative Design Center offers the opportunity to reflect on the many examples of community action undertaken by design entities tied to academic institutions...

Detroit pitches solar energy plan targeting vacant land across the city

2023-07-06T12:06:00-04:00

A new plan Mayor Mike Duggan is pitching would fill vacant land in the city, provide clean energy for the city, and give money back to community groups. After some consultation with solar companies, the plans should start to take shape this fall. Starting July 1, neighborhood groups will be able to submit a community interest form. If they need assistance with the proposal, they can request help from a solar energy expert.

The plan puts the Motor City squarely in line with Chicago, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and New York, whose attempt to power 250,000 homes by 2030 is still lagging. France also just commenced its own plan targeted at parking lots in the country at the beginning of the month, despite previous road bumps there.

Vacant parcels across Detroit have long been the subject of various renewal proposals. As of last September, there were a total of 62,781 registered in the city's Land Bank database. A total of 16.75% of the city's 88,800 overall acreage is considered vacant, according to statistics published in 2019 from Data Driven Detroit.

Gensler and CIVILIAN team reimagines abandoned Detroit book depository as startup hub for mobility innovation

2023-04-28T11:55:00-04:00

A team including Gensler and CIVILIAN has completed the adaptive reuse of an old book depository in Detroit. The new center will serve as the headquarters for Newlab, a technology collective hosting startups in the field of decarbonization, energy, mobility, and materials.

Image credit: Jason Keen

Newlab’s headquarters sits within the wider Michigan Central campus; a 30-acre center advancing mobility-focused technologies and the vision of Ford executive chairman Bill Ford. On the campus, Newlab will create what the organization calls a “center of gravity for startups, entrepreneurs, engineers, and scientists to build breakthrough companies in Detroit.”

Image credit: Jason Keen

Image credit: Brian Ferry

The 1936 Albert Kahn-designed building housing Newlab was originally built as a post office and mail-sorting facility, before being used as the Detroit Public School’s Book Depository. The art deco building will now serve as a 270,000-square-foot center with purpos...

Pensole Lewis College and PepsiCo launch partnership for design diversity with innovative student lounge project

2023-04-05T08:56:00-04:00

PepsiCo and Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design, the first and only Historically Black College or University (HBCU) dedicated to design, are marking the first step in their three-year partnership to develop Black designers and increase representation in the design industry with a program tasking students to create a new student lounge on campus.

Previously on Archinect: A formerly closed HBCU in Detroit is reopening as a design school thanks to an industry leader

Together, PepsiCo and Pensole Lewis aim to address the diversity gap in the design industry by providing students with access to mentorship, apprenticeships, and job opportunities.

Designers from the PepsiCo Design & Innovation team and MillerKnoll mentored Pensole Lewis students through the design process. The winning concept will be brought to life this summer. In addition, NBA star Russell Westbrook, who shares the partnership’s mission, will work to further amplify the effort and unveil the completed lounge whe...

New renderings released of Hudson's Site development in downtown Detroit

2022-05-16T19:44:00-04:00

New renderings were released today of one of the city's most visible and notable developments. While the proposed 685-foot tower at the Hudson's site gets the most attention, the office building next door will be an active space with many places for the public to visit. Bedrock unveiled a look inside the 220-foot office building, with office, event, and dining space.

A revitalization of the historic Hudson’s Department Store site in downtown Detroit, the project will bring 1.5 million square feet of office, retail, event, residential, and hotel space to the area. The development’s design is being led by SHoP Architects and Detroit-based Hamilton Anderson, with Pophouse in charge of designing the interiors of the office building.

Image courtesy of SHoP Architects

The retail space will be positioned at ground level of the office building, and the second and third floors will host the 126,000-square-foot event space, with a capacity of 2,500 people. The top of the building will feature an indoor/outdoor dining space. The office space will span 400,000 square feet.

Image courtesy of SHoP Architects

As reported by Urbanize Detroit, the office building component of the development has topped out, and the under-construction tower has surpassed 200 feet with a topping-out ceremony expected next year. The development is slated for completion in 2024.

...

OMA and Library Street Collective unveil new mixed-use arts space in Detroit

2022-05-05T14:27:00-04:00

Detroit-based contemporary art exhibition space Library Street Collective has announced a partnership with OMA to transform a former 1900s-era commercial bakery and warehouse into a mixed-use arts education and public space.

Led by OMA Partner Jason Long, the adaptive reuse project will see the conversion of the 22,300-square-foot complex at 9301 Kercheval into a headquarters for two local arts nonprofits, Signal-Return and Progressive Arts Studio Collective (PASC). Nicknamed “LANTERN,” it will also feature roughly 5,300 square feet of affordable artist studios, an art gallery, and nearly 4,000 feet of creative retail. This will be centered around a 2,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard that will serve as an accessible community space and activity condenser.

The original vacant bakery and warehouse. Photo: Jason Keen, Courtesy LSC

The proposed revamp. Image Copyright OMA and Luxigon

PASC and Signal-Return will occupy approximately 8,500 square feet of combined space on the building’s ...

Detroit to host first public wireless charging road for electric vehicles in the U.S.

2022-02-18T18:43:00-05:00

Electrical Vehicle wireless charging technology company Electreon has announced that it is set to establish its first public wireless EV charging road system in the U.S.

The Michigan Department of Transportation along with the State Department of Future Transportation and Electrification awarded the company a tender to create a wireless charging demonstration project that will include a one-mile wireless charging road and static charging stations. Dubbed the “Michigan Project,” the initiative is expected to launch in 2023 in Detroit.

The Michigan Project is expected to be a significant part of Michigan’s aim to strengthen the economy, electrify vehicle fleets, and reduce carbon emissions by 2050. The State Department of Michigan will provide $1.9 million in funding towards the project.

Previously on Archinect: New research reveals the possibility for wireless vehicle charging while driving

“Michigan’s automotive industry roots built a foundation for mobility innovation, and we’re t...

Michigan Governor Whitmer signs bills to resurrect state's only HBCU into college of design

2021-12-31T14:06:00-05:00

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed two bills on Tuesday to re-establish the state’s first and only Historically Black College or University (HBCU). The former Lewis College of Business is slated to reopen as the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design in 2022. It was originally founded in Indianapolis in 1928 before relocating to Detroit in 1939 where it operated until closing in 2013.

This will make it the first HBCU to close and then successfully reopen. Plans for the school’s reopening were announced several months ago, however, Governor Whitmer’s signing of House Bill 5447 and 5448 has made this effort a reality. The school will operate on the College for Creative Studies campus in Detroit and, according to Detroit Metro Times, will provide free tuition for Black designers, creatives, and future business leaders.

Previously on Archinect: A formerly closed HBCU in Detroit is reopening as a design school thanks to an industry leader

Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design is expected to open in March of 2022 and will be under the leadership of Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, the founder of the Pensole Design Academy in Portland, Oregon, former Nike design director, and controlling stockholder of the previously closed Lewis College of Business.

The Hip Hop Architect surprises Detroit high school senior with $10,000 scholarship

2021-12-07T18:13:00-05:00

The Hip Hop Architect Michael Ford has surprised a high school senior student in Detroit with a $10,000 scholarship from The Hip Hop Architecture Camp to study architecture.

Sarah Shaw-Nichols is a student at Ford’s former school Cass Technical High School. The scholarship was awarded through Ford's initiative that aims to introduce underrepresented youth to architecture, urban planning, creative placemaking, and economic development through the lens of hip hop culture.

The funding for the scholarship came from Herman Miller, which has recently collaborated with Ford on a variety of projects, such as the Conversations for Change program and a custom Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman piece.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Michael Ford (@thehiphoparchitect)

A formerly closed HBCU in Detroit is reopening as a design school thanks to an industry leader

2021-10-29T14:44:00-04:00

Detroit, Michigan’s erstwhile Lewis College of Business is making history after being resurrected by one of the biggest names in footwear and apparel design.

The college operated from 1928 to 2013 before shuttering due to financial concerns and will now become the nation’s first HBCU to officially reopen, giving hope to the 104 similar institutions that were until recently a significant part of President Biden’s multi-trillion dollar Build Back Better spending plan.

The school is offering free room and board as well as comped tuition for students interested in pursuing careers in the design field. Its website is promoting a learn-by-doing approach that will help train students across multiple disciplines, including robust course offerings in STEM fields, sustainability, business, and design.

Renamed the Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design, the reimagined institution takes its name from Pensole Design Academy, a Portland, Oregon-based non-profit founded in 2010 by former Ni...

Michigan Central Station: Ford hires EverGreene Architectural Arts to revive historic interiors

2021-02-08T13:45:00-05:00

Ford Motor Co. of Dearborn has brought on New York City-based EverGreene Architectural Arts, one of the largest specialty contractors in the U.S., to revive the grandest areas of Michigan Central Station, including the main waiting area, arcade, ticket lobby, and restaurant. The company specializes in restoring historic buildings.

Ford purchased Detroit's historic but long-vacant Michigan Central Station in 2018 with plans to redevelop the hulking structure as the shining centerpiece of the company's new 30-acre Corktown mobility innovation district. PAU was brought on as the lead architect and strategic planner, and in November 2020, the new site plan was revealed to the public. Collaborator Gensler was tasked to revitalize the Book Depository, one of the development's four key buildings.

Previously on Archinect: Design plans released for Ford's Michigan Central site and Book Depository by PAU and Gensler. Rendering courtesy of PAU.

In a recent statement, the company revealed that specialty contractors EverGreene Architectural Arts were tasked to "replicate and restore approximately 56,000 square feet of decorative plasterwork."

Update Feb 8, 2021: This article has been corrected to better reflect PAU's involvement in the project.

NOMA celebrates Jason Pugh, Pascale Sablan, and Tiffany Brown as they embrace leadership and 50 years of empowering and educating minority architects

2021-01-19T18:45:00-05:00

NOMA's commitment to supporting and mentoring architects continues as new leadership transitions for 2021. Jason Pugh will begin his new position in the organization as he follows former President Kimberly Dowdell's work and energy. Pugh will be supported by Pascale Sablan, who was voted President-Elect for the 2023-2024 term. Like the presidents and leaders before them, each newly appointed president has helped shape NOMA into the organization it has become today.

Pugh shares, "One of the main goals for the next two years is to build upon the great work and progress NOMA has accomplished during the last impactful administration, led by NOMA past-President Kimberly Dowdell." In response to her appointment, Sablan wrote to the community sharing her matched enthusiasm in her new role. "I'm extremely proud to share that during the NOMA 48th National Conference, I was voted to be President-Elect to support Jason E. Pugh during his presidency. In this role, I will have the honor of gett...

Design plans released for Ford's Michigan Central site and Book Depository by PAU and Gensler

2020-11-20T12:16:00-05:00

At a community meeting this week, Ford Motor Company revealed the site plan for Michigan Central, a new walkable mobility innovation district in Corktown, Detroit’s oldest neighborhood, as well as designs for some of the district’s first buildings. Ford’s multiyear development, including the restoration of the iconic Michigan Central Station, is underway.

Michigan Central site plan. Courtesy of PAU.

The 30-acre site plan was developed by lead architect and strategic planner Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU). It will be a walkable community that is anchored by a train station. According to Ford, the new development will prioritize the needs of residents and businesses as well as the 5,000 employees who work there.

Vernor Plaza. Courtesy of PAU

Mobility Platform. Courtesy of PAU

“This project is about preparing Ford for another century of innovation and success,” said Mary Culler, Ford’s Detroit development director and Ford Fund president. “At Michigan Central, we are taking ...

City of Detroit and SLA-led team partner on resident-focused neighborhood framework plan

2020-06-24T18:17:00-04:00

The City of Detroit has established a promising collaboration with Danish architects and urban planners SLA, local firm Giffels Webster, and consultants Utile, CDAD, and HR&A to address and solve the social and urban challenges of the Gratiot / 7 Mile Neighborhood in Detroit. The team was selected after it won a competition issued by the City of Detroit calling for a multidisciplinary team to help with a new neighborhood framework plan.

Photo by SLA.

"The Gratiot/7 Mile Neighborhood has many challenges. But it also contains many opportunities and much potential to reinvent itself from socially and physically challenged area into a well- functioning community. Drawing on our team’s multidisciplinarity and joint Scandinavian-American roots, we want to create the foundation for a holistic development that will help Gratiot / 7 Mile find its feet again - both physically, socially, culturally and economically," said Rasmus Astrup, Design Principal and Partner in SLA in a statement.

Photo...

The hidden potential of vacant homes

2019-08-28T12:28:00-04:00

Now comes encouraging news of a Detroit program to take abandoned homes which can be saved into a land bank and then auction them off. The program is coupled with forgivable loans for repairs.

Detrroit is auctioning off vacant homes to "people who commit to fix them up and live in them." The implementation has supported Detroit's growing identity as a financially feasible place to "make a start with a home and a business."

African-American women are propelling Detroit's architecture and interior design scenes

2019-08-26T15:32:00-04:00

For August, Archinect has explored a variety of topics relating to the changing landscape of the city of Detroit, including new initiatives in design and public policy, academics, and architectural practice.

As we near the end of the month, our focus turns to the architects, designers, urban planners, and community-centered programs in Detroit that have collaborated to enrich neighborhoods and develop stronger examples of equity within the area.

According to Erica Snow of Business of Home, a 2018 report from Design Core Detroit states the nature of Detroit's growth. "Design is thriving in the Motor City [..] architecture and interior design were $489.6 million and $148.6 million industries, respectively, in the city's metropolitan area, and the design industry as a whole grew 15-percent between 2012 and 2016."

This type of growth and focus on design has made Detroit into a "must watch city." The area has a vibrant past and bright future that is coming together thanks to dedicated...

Landscape architects Spackman Mossop Michaels turn vacant Detroit parking lots into thriving parks

2019-08-23T09:00:00-04:00

Detroit natives can recall the neighborhood of Fitzgerald and its transition from a lively community to a vacant and foreclosed part of town. Today, the neighborhood is poised for change again, as landscape architects Spackman Mossop Michaels (SSM) work to help revitalize the community alongside the Fitzgerald Neighborhood Revitalization Plan with a series of design strategies that populate the neighborhood's vacant lots. In a recent Metropolis article, writes, "it’s a unique model for Detroit—or anywhere else—because it rebuilds equity not only by restoring what was taken but also by deepening residents’ relationships through the new landscapes."

With the aim of piecing together 26 lots connecting to and surrounding the Ella Fitzgerald Park, the plan is to create a linear greenway filled with native meadows and larger orchards within the neighborhood. Mortice writes, "the Fitzgerald Neighborhood Revitalization Plan weaves together refurbished single-family homes within a network o...

After delays, the pizza-slice-shaped windows on the Little Caesars headquarters in Detroit are almost complete

2019-08-15T19:00:00-04:00

After a year's delay, construction crews Monday were installing the final glass panels in on the upper floors of the new Little Caesars headquarters on Woodward Avenue near the Fox Theatre. Originally expected to be opened last summer, the building was delayed over an apparent problem with the unique pizza-slice wedges of glass that form the facade.

The SmithGroup-designed Little Caesar's headquarters in Detroit is finally continuing its construction progress, nearly a year after hiccups with the tower's pizza-shaped window installation delayed the project's completion.

Winners of the Detroit City of Design Competition prototype solutions for Detroit's neighborhoods

2019-08-15T15:30:00-04:00

Recognized as a UNESCO City of Design in 2015, Detroit has dedicated time and effort to help the city grow and thrive. This year, Design Core Detroit launched its first edition of the Detroit City of Design Competition. The international and multi-disciplinary competition invites designers from all 31 UNESCO Cities of Design to participate in the competition. The goal is to create prototype design solutions for various neighborhoods in Detroit that promote safety and walkability.

A jury comprised of local and international design experts and community representatives reviewed 26 project submissions for the competition. Out of those 26 submissions, three winners were selected. The three finalists were chosen for their attention to the prompt, their creativity, and the execution of their designs based on overall cost and their choice of neighborhood.

"We are inspired by the innovation presented in the winners and finalists and the way they demonstrate the value of design to the commu...

Architect Kimberly Dowdell uses her hometown of Detroit as a catalyst for teaching equitable urban design practices

2019-08-14T17:00:00-04:00

In her lecture, entitled “Diverse City: How Equitable Design and Development will Shape Urban Futures,” Dowdell drew on her experiences growing up in Detroit and her work in real estate development.

Earlier this year, architect, Detroit native, and current National Organization of Minority Architects president Kimberly N. Dowdell presented a lecture discussing the importance of equity in design and development. With her multi-disciplinary background in real estate development, education, and architecture, Dowdell explains, "equity, if I boil it down to its most essential element, is making it right,"adding, "Cities can experience trauma, and when you make it right, they can become more resilient."

Thanks to coverage of the lecture by Danielle J. Kranchalk from The Harvard Crimson, we get a view into Dowdell's presentation at Harvard GSD, which showcased her strategy for revitalizing various Detroit neighborhoods.

Her passion and commitment for creating thriving cities are marked by an approach that prioritizes what can be done to think outside the box. As Dowdell poignantly explains, "both people and cities go through cycles of trauma, equity, and resilience." She continues t...

Emily Helen Butterfield, Michigan's first female architect

2019-08-05T15:36:00-04:00

Emily Helen Butterfield, born August 4, 1884, was the first licensed woman architect in Michigan.

Butterfield grew up in Detroit with a love of watercolor painting, and eventually studied architecture at Syracuse University, where she was a founding member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. After graduating in 1907, Butterfield and her father, Wells D. Butterfield, established the architectural office of Butterfield and Butterfield in Detroit.

The pair practiced together and specialized in the design of churches while also leading the design of the Oaklands planned community in Farmington Hills outside of Detroit. The younger Butterfield designed many houses in the development, according to the City of Farmington Hills Historic District Commission, mainly in the Colonial Revival style. Butterfields thoughtful bungalows are notable for their two-story design and for the cleaver inclusion of evocative stylistic architectural elements that lent the homes formal interest and material ...

Detroit's Maurice Cox to lead Chicago's planning department

2019-07-19T13:12:00-04:00

New York native Maurice Cox is stepping down from his role this fall as Detroit's planning director. He's expected to take on a role as the top planning executive for the City of Chicago, a city official confirmed.

After four years at the helm of Detroit's planning department, Maurice Cox is headed to Chicago to serve as the city's top planning executive under the Windy City's new mayor, Lori Lightfoot.

A Brooklyn native, Cox is an architectural designer, educator, and former mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia. Prior to arriving in Detroit, Cox directed the Tulane University City Center, a community outreach and design-build institute housed within the Tulane School of Architecture. Prior to that role, Cox served as the design director for the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Cox told The Detroit News, "I feel strongly that Detroit's neighborhoods are receiving the attention that they deserve and people feel strongly that they have a road map for the quality of life for neighborhoods, whether it's streets, parks or greenways. Cox added that those efforts are "driven by the residents who stayed."

Ford Motor Co. to renovate Detroit's Michigan Central Station into “future mobility” research center

2019-07-18T16:48:00-04:00

This all makes what is happening now all the more remarkable. Last summer, Ford Motor Company announced it had bought the building, with plans to invest $740million to transform it into a world-leading research centre for ‘future mobility’. The very industry that signed the station’s death warrant in the first place is now set on resuscitating it as a beacon of sustainable transport.

Oliver Wainwright pens a piece on the upcoming renovation of the Michigan Central Station, which was a celebrated icon of Detroit when it first opened in 1913. After the station closed in 1988 and was abandoned, it became the epitome of the city's ruin porn.

After buying the building last summer, Ford Motor Company will transform the ground floor into a public market-style space, while offices in the upper floors and neighboring buildings will house their 1.2 million square-foot “future mobility” Headquarters and Research Campus, which Snøhetta is designing.

In the article, Ford's construction manager Richard Bardelli tells Wainwright that the renovation project aims to turn Detroit into “the mobility capital of the world”.

Dan Pitera appointed as University of Detroit Mercy architecture dean

2019-06-11T14:00:00-04:00

Dan Pitera, the director of the non-profit, community-centric Detroit Collaborative Design Center (DCDC) for the past 20 years, was appointed as the new dean of the University of Detroit Mercy's School of Architecture and will begin his new position on August 1.

Described as “a political and social activist masquerading as an architect”, Pitera has led a successful career in architecture and urban development, with an expertise in public interest design and community engagement. He earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Architecture degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He then joined the University of Detroit Mercy in 1999 and has taught upper-level design studios. He served as a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University from 2004-05, and in 2010 was formally inducted into the AIA College of Fellows. He co-authored the book “Syncopating the Urban Landscape: More People, More Programs, More Geographies” and co-edited “Activist Architecture: The Philosophy and Practice of t...