Critical Detroit

You may not like it for various reasons, but you can't help but be impressed with these statistics:

• Height: 850m - 900m (2550ft - 2700ft)
  
• Floors: 160 - 189
• Cost: $800,000,000
• Construction: February 2005 - August 2009
• Architect: SOM

There's even a website devoted to documenting everything about this building as it goes up.  The site includes many facts, figures, construction photos, and even a daily news journal.

For comparisons sake, the Sears Tower, currently the tallest in North America, only has 110 floors and is 1450 feet tall.  The tallest building in Detroit is the 73-story, 727 feet tall Marriott Hotel at the center of the GM Renaissance Center.

If you somehow missed this, Michigan Stadium is undergoing a major renovation and expansion.  The following description is straight from the U of M project website:

The 400,000-square-foot addition includes two multi-story masonry structures on both the east and west sides of the stadium; the end zones will remain open. The structures, which will stand 10 feet higher than the current scoreboards at their highest point, include 83 suites and 3,000 club seats.

Construction is phased over the next three years and will be completed prior to the 2010 football season.
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ALOeTERRA was a 2007 Solar Decathlon competition entry by a group of LTU students.  The event took place in Washington D.C. from October 12th - 20th, 2007.  Schools from around the world were selected to participate in the competition.

The LTU team had quite a few obstacles to overcome and finished 20th out of 20 teams.  You can read more about their experience and the competition in general at the following sites:

ALOeTERRA [ via LTU ]
Official LTU Team Blog
Solar Decathlon Official Website [ via U.S. Department of Energy ]

It appears that LTU was not selected to participate in the 2009 Solar Decathlon.

ALOeTERRA will be featured in the final presentation of the evening at annual AIA Michigan Design Retreat.

Even though this event happened in April 2008, I hesitate to publish this for a variety of reasons which I'll get to later.

First, a little background about the event.  The AIA Committee on Design was founded to "promote design excellence among members of the AIA, the broader design community, and the public at large, both nationally and internationally."  In keeping with their goals, the committee held a debate in Detroit from April 3rd thru April 6th to debate parallels between architecture and other forms of design including automotive, landscape, furniture, and crafts.

John Gallagher put together a nice little article which amounts to a daily journal of the days events.

Has anybody seen their invitation to the 19th Annual Design Retreat?  I finally got my invitation! The AIA Michigan website site has a calendar entry for the event, but the link points to last year's event.  The only note is in the upper left corner of the page which indicates that the retreat is on September 12th thru 14th.

Typically, current year honor award winners are asked to present at the retreat.  If you've forgotten who received awards this year take a look at our recap.  Two days of presentations are followed by a guest lecturer talking about Michigan relevant architecture on Saturday evening.  Anybody have information about this years presenter?  A list of presenters was also included with the invitation.  Read on to learn which projects will be presented this year.

Crains Detroit had a very small write-up (it's about halfway down the page) in their August 4th edition announcing that Francis Grunow is resigning as Executive Director to pursue other interests.  A search is currently underway for her successor, but no definite timeframes have been set.

A quick side trip revealed this jewel hidden in Highland Township.  It is the Highland United Methodist Church and is currently being used as a historical library for the county.

The building is Victorian Gothic with elaborate scroll work above the window heads, gables, and the tower.  The detail of the tower, which includes even more scroll work, decorative shingles, a belfry, and a metal weather vane, is impressive.

The building is listed in both the State and National Register (According to the State record, but I could not locate it in the National database) of Historic Places.

Some notes from the historical marker:  Built in 1886.  Purchased in 1980 by the township which restored the building and rededicated it in 1982.

Next time you're in Highland Township take the time to stop and admire the craftsmanship that went into the tower.View image View image

Things have changed quite a bit around here since I first launched this site back in 2005.  Most of the changes to the site are detailed in the About page at the bottom of every page.

There are some things that I did not cover and will be updating that page shortly.

1. How do I participate?  You can submit story ideas, join the team, or just comment on stories.  There's alot of information to cover and I can only do so much.  If you feel inclined to share a story, by all means, send us a note.  There are links at the top and left side of every page.  I get the emails instantly (thanks to my iPhone) and usually respond real quick.  If you're looking to provide content long-term, consider joining the team.  I know this sounds official, but it really just means I just shake your hand and you add articles just like I do.  (Best of all it's free!)  I'd love to get more people involved in writing about Detroit architecture.  If you just want to say something about a story, click the "Comment" link found on each article and speak your mind.
   
2. Can I write about the suburbs even though this site is called Critical Detroit?  Absolutely!  There are great examples of architecture all over Metro Detroit.  I may even include articles about different parts of the state if I see something you all might like to know about.
3. Where are the old stories?  Ok, I had to make a choice about which past articles were relevant and most of them didn't make the cut.  Many of you have been looking for the photos of the Book Cadillac building while in the early stages of construction.  I will get those back on the site now that I seem to have a quick, easy way to incorporate multiple photos.
   

I went on the GM Architectural Heritage Tour (offered by Preservation Wayne) this past weekend and realized that I've forgotten a bit of the history that I worked so hard to learn in school.

The tour, only offered twice a year, explored the New Center and Milwaukee Junction areas just north of Midtown.  The tour started and ended at the Fisher Building, including a stop at the Cadillac Building, and walks around other buildings figuring prominently in Detroit's automotive beginnings.

Unfortunately, Preservation Wayne wasn't granted permission to tour the 14th floor (old GM executive offices) of the Cadillac Building.  For me personally, this was one of the main reasons for joining the tour.  If the next tour (September 13th) is given permission, I'll be back. (Ellen?)

In conjunction with MOCAD's considering Detroit show, considering Architecture: Sustainable Designs from Detroit will also be on view. This show will include the designs, architecture and products of several local area architecture firms and highlight their projects that include "green" or sustainable design practices.

Did anyone make it to this?  I'd love some feedback on the projects included in the exhibit.

The DIA, in conjunction with the exhibition Kenro Izu: Sacred Places, is organizing an online photo contest to capture images of sacred Detroit. While you can view all the submissions by visiting Flickr, only select photo submissions will be reviewed and published in a blog. 

The deadline for submitting photos is September 3, 2008.  The DIA has complete contest details.

Many of the images submitted so far are architecture related and quite moving.  I'll be keeping an eye on this Flickr group with interest.  Photo taken by Casino Jones.