Buzz

NYT: Late artist Mike Kelley's mobile homestead coming to MOCAD

New York Times Tuesday, April 23, 2013

We were saddened to hear of the death of Los Angeles-based Mike Kelley, an artist with Detroit roots. Kelley had been working with the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit on his mobile homestead project for several years prior to his passing.

We've been following the project, still in the works with a launch planned this spring, as has the New York Times.

An excerpt:

The New York The house is a faithful replica of the suburban Detroit childhood home of the artist Mike Kelley, who shepherded the details of its creation up to the final days of his life in January 2012, when he committed suicide at his home in South Pasadena, Calif. Kelley was one of the most influential artists of the last several decades. And though he made his name in the Los Angeles art world, much of the look and feel of his art came from his working-class, Irish Catholic upbringing here, in a city whose affliction he seemed to embody.

Read on here.

MOCAD renovation winning awards even before construction begins

HuffPost Detroit Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Great news from the Museum of Contempory Art Detroit last week about MOCAD's upcoming redesign by Rice+Lipka Architects and urban design/landscape architects James Corner Field Operations.

This excerpt from HuffPost Detroit:

The design won the Architectural Review's 2013 Future Project award in the "Old and New" category.

The judges hailed the MOCAD design as "an inspirational project that combines past and present in a well resolved and convincing manner. It creates new space for new creativity in a post-industrial city."

The two firms will work to make the interior more energy-efficient. They'll also reconfigure exhibit, event and storage area. Exterior changes will also create a brand-new outdoor event space.

Read more here.

Modernism with a human face in Lafayette Park

Co.Design Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Nice to see the world re-discovering -- or discovering for the first time -- the simple residential charms of the Mies van der Rohe towers and townhomes. Fast Company's Co.Design noticed.

An excerpt:

Nestled in a leafy neighborhood adjacent to downtown, Lafayette Park is a collection of high rises and townhouses designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1962. As Detroit suffered the roller coaster of the 1970s and '80s, the community has remained conspicuously healthy and diverse--a mix of old and young, black and white, professional and creative. In short, it’s a holy grail of 20th-century Modern architecture.

Good stuff. Read on here.

Hart Plaza forest tops riverfront design ideas

Co.Design Tuesday, January 08, 2013

A "tiny forest" on the largely cemented shores of downtown Detroit, Hart plaza to be exact? We like it. It's the winning proposal in a design competition for ideas on how to maximize the Detroit riverfront.

An exerpt from co.design:

The idea is to create a space, separated visually from the city, that can facilitate interactions of all sizes. Small attractions can be interspersed throughout the woods, while an open space called the knoll is intended as a central meeting place for larger activities. "In our proposal," Yoon and Yoo explain, "the important idea we focus on is not the types of activities but the scales of them. Many small components of the forest, such as sculptures, trails, or small bridges will be able to hold small scale activities. On the other hand, the knoll, a big open space, will hold large scale activities, such as concerts, screenings, or theatrical performances with magnificent background of forest."

Read more here.

Winners announced in Detroit waterfront vision contest

Detroit Free Press Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Freep's John Gallagher reports that designers from as far away as "South Korea and England were among the winners in this week’s Detroit by Design 2012 competition, held by the Urban Priorities Committee of AIA Detroit." There were some pretty good ideas, including our favorite -- extending the river onto Detroit land via canals, ponds and lakes.

Read more here.

AIA design competition aims to redefine Detroit waterfront

AIA Detroit by Design Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Detroit Urban Priorities Committee last week announced the DETROIT BY DESIGN 2012: Detroit Riverfront Competition and Symposium. The event will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. at the Detroit Institute of Arts Kresge Court, and includes the opportunity for the public to preview selected competition submissions and participate in a discussion about the future of Detroit’s riverfront.

The panel discussion will be moderated by John Gallagher of the Detroit Free Press, and the competition and symposium panel includes world renowned architect Daniel Libeskind; Reed Kroloff, Director, Cranbrook Academy of Art; Faye Alexander Nelson, President of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy; landscape architect and educator Walter Hood; and Canadian architect Lola Sheppard. Admission to the event is free for the public.

Competition prizes are $5000, a trip to Detroit and an AIA sponsored lecture to present the winning scheme for first place; $2,500 for second place; and $1,000 for third place. Entries for the competition can be submitted online here. The competition jury will convene in Detroit on Dec. 4-5, and winners chosen by the end of the day on Dec. 5. The winning entries will be announced shortly thereafter.

The Detroit Institute of Arts is at 5200 Woodward Avenue, Detroit. Admission is free for the public and $25 for AIA- member architects seeking continuing education credits. A cash bar will be available. For more information, go here.

Dwell: International design movement includes Detroit

Dwell Tuesday, October 16, 2012

We found this gem of an overview on the world wide urban design movement largely because of this excerpt:

Matt Clayson, Director of the Detroit Design Festival calls this current rash of festivals the third wave. London's, founded in 2003, is the mothership. Philadelphia, founded in 2005, and San Francisco, in 2006, were the second wave. Detroit’s venture grew from the Detroit Creative Corridor Center’s design-thinky approach. Like that?

Here's more, from Dwell.

MODCaR's Imaging project makes Mutable Matter

Mutable Matter Tuesday, October 09, 2012

A unique event called Imaging Detroit, featuring DJs (no, not that kind; we're talking discourse jockeys. Clever, eh?) at the near East Side's Perrien Park was one of the highlights of last month's Detroit Design Festival.

It's heady stuff. The web-based Mutable Matter zine was equally impressed. Read what they have to say here.

Mies Detroit residential gems subject of new book

New York Times Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Thanks for the View, Mr. Mies, due out at the end of the month on Metropolis Books, gets a sneak preview in the New York Times. Yes, it's an architectural love story set in Lafayette Park; and, yes, as promised, we do have a dandy feature book review this week.

If you missed it, check this out. And another, a little bonus from the Design Observer Group.

Open house set for the Auburn Friday and Saturday

Berg Muirhead and Associates Tuesday, October 02, 2012

On Wednesday, project partners, Invest Detroit, Midtown Detroit, Inc. and The Roxbury Group will give the first construction tour and preview of the Auburn, a $12 million, 56,000 square foot residential and retail project at Cass Avenue and Canfield Street in Midtown, Detroit. The five commercial tenants, which are scheduled to open by the end of the year, will also be announced.

The tour will give us a first look at the Auburn’s model units and common spaces, including two expansive porches and a year-round social room. The tour will also mark the official start of leasing for the 58 apartments. The preview is Oct. 3, 11 a.m. at the main entrance, 4240 Cass Avenue.

The Auburn will hold open houses for the community and potential residents on Friday, Oct. 5, noon-9 p.m.; and Saturday, Oct. 6, 4-9 p.m.

The Auburn has 54 one-bedroom and four studio apartments. The one bedroom units range from $920 to $995 and the studios from $780 to $830. For leasing information, contact Michael Martorelli, leasing manager for the Auburn, by sending an email here.

Dan Gilbert's entrepreneurial mission gets noticed

MedCity News Tuesday, September 25, 2012

We've written plenty, and so have others in Detroit, about Dan Gilbert's voracious appetite for vertical downtown properties. It's nice when others notice, like MedCity News, based in Cleveland (he has several holdings there as well, including the Cavaliers NBA franchise).

Read the Q&A here.

Rumors fly sky high about Yamasaki architectural gem

Crain's Detroit Business Tuesday, September 11, 2012

We have absolutely no problem admitting we love the work of former Detroiter, the notable Japanese-American architect Minoru Yamasaki, who among other gems, designed what is now known as One Woodward. Crain's Detroit Business is reporting this tantalizing rumor. What rumor?

Read more here,

Calling all architects: Register now for riverfront design competition

AIA Detroit by Design Tuesday, August 28, 2012

We've always believed a little competition for architects in Detroit could be a beautiful thing -- and end with the creation of many beautiful things.

So, right on cue, comes a design competition focusing on the redeveloping the riverfront.

An excerpt:

The competition will focus on the area between Cobo Hall and the Renaissance Center and between Jefferson Avenue and the Detroit River. This section of Riverfront which includes Hart Plaza is at the heart of the city. The major streets from the radial street plan created by Augustus Woodward intersect just north of this site.

Read the rest of the story here.

Nonprofit Better Block project coming to Detroit

GOOD Tuesday, August 28, 2012

We spotted this item trolling, as we are prone to do, on GOOD. It's about a project that redesigns and remakes a city block.

An excerpt:

The organization's next stop: Detroit, where the city's first-ever Better Block project will take place from Sept. 22 to 23 as part of the Detroit Design Festival. Headed by volunteers from the US Green Building Council and Wayne State University, the project aims to reshape a location with plenty of vacant commercial space -- the North End.

Great stuff. Read more here.

DC3 announces second design festival for September

Detroit Creative Corridor Center Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The second annual Detroit Design Festival (DDF), presented by the Detroit Creative Corridor Center (DC3), is coming to Detroit’s Woodward Corridor Sept. 19-23. The festival, which had 85 Design Happenings featuring 300 designers in its first year, connects designers and creative practitioners, exposing them to new markets and consumers.

We had a ton of fun last year. Read more here and stay tuned for more info closer to the dates.

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