This project was all about our vision to create a neighborhood that focuses on housing, developing and showcasing Detroit’s diverse creative industries and people. In a lot of ways, we ended up in Michigan because of Tamas’ decision to receive his masters at Cranbrook Academy of Art. This city has become more than anything we could have imagined as 25 year olds moving from the East Coast - and this project gave us a chance to show our love for the city we now call home.
Much of our inspiration came from studying the history of Core City as a neighborhood in Detroit. Between 1900 and 1950, Core City was a hub of activity as it was transected by primary rail and road arteries and is just two miles from Downtown. In the first half of the 20th century it was a dense hub of residential, retail and manufacturing, and hosted the largest employer in the State of Michigan - the William Bros. Co. In the latter half of the 20th century, Core City saw a decline, as many residents and businesses left the city for the suburbs.
Over the past decade, a group of entrepreneurs, artists, artisans and farmers have helped to expand the existing community and pave the way for future development. When we first entered the site we saw the beauty in the diverse existing architecture – the northeastern portion of Core City contains a diverse range of structures and users, as well as an active diner, large scale supermarket and neighborhood patchwork of single-family homes.
Our development had three parts, all in an effort to help the area grow organically, and reveal to visitors the spirit of the area. First off, the site would grow radially around “nodes” as centers of activity. Bisecting the whole neighborhood, new “informal” pathways will proliferate and eventually create a new connective experiential network. Second to this is the importance of permeability between the East and West of Core City. We wanted to create fluidity between the two central public streets – Lorraine and Lawton – so that visitors can filter through and inturn have chance encounters and unpredictable convergences. Finally, it was important to us to maintain “Green Arteries” – informal paths and adjacent parks to encourage wandering movements and informal discoveries, as well as center green and nature in the experience of the space.