Archinect - News

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."