This project was designed as a mixed-use renovation and addition to an existing commercial building with storefront (catering office) on street level and residential on the upper level.

The clients, a restauranteur, and an artist, wanted to expand the catering office by incorporating laundry, secured parking at the street level, add to the residential, and provide a painting studio for her work. The owners and architects were committed to creating an aesthetic that suggested Detroit’s urban and industrial legacies…and edgy look more common to places like Soho. Because of the alley setting, the project used as inspiration, materials characteristic of the alley employing concrete, steel, chain link, and messy things…it takes what are normally seen as ordinary materials and uses them in an artful manner.

Gross Pointe, a quietly conservative community, took a broadened view of their zoning laws to allow both residential and business in the same building based upon the scheme proposed. In the sixties, zoning approaches typically separated uses. We have all seen the detriment to street life within our cities and towns that this approach has rendered. Hopes are that this type of project will inspire further mixed-use development.

ARCHITECT: Karen Swanson AIA
CONSULTING ARCHITECT: William Hartman FAIA
CONTRACTOR: Brown Schroeder
PHOTOGRAPHY: Beth Singer

Link to Detroit Free Press Write-Up