Now called The M@dison, the newly renovated office building is a hub for technology entrepreneurs in downtown Detroit. Above, concrete plinths at the base of stairs serve as bench seating, while modern furniture, fixtures and graphics contrast with exposed vintage steel, concrete and reclaimed wood. PHOTO BY JUSTIN MACONOCHIE PHOTOGRAPHY
By Clare Desmond, Contributing Editor here are many things about a renovation project that can make a Design/Build team proud. Some projects stand out for beauty, others for detail, complexity, delivery, or any number of characteristics. In the case of the $12-millionplus renovation of the approximately 50,000-square-foot (not including an 8,500-square-foot rooftop terrace) Madison Theater in downtown Detroit, it’s all of the above, and more. Bought and renovated specifically to be a hub and business incubator for technology start-up businesses, the newly wrought building dazzles with its youthful, energetic and tech-centric urban design that was accomplished under a startlingly rapid construction timetable and on a maximally tight construction site. But representatives of the project’s owner, architect and contractor all say they are most proud of the impact the project has had on the City of Detroit. “It’s becoming a ‘go-to’ place,” said Joel Smith AIA, principal, Neumann/Smith Architecture, Southfield, the architect of record on the project. “People are asking, ‘Have you been to the M@dison?’ I
T
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didn’t realize what an impact this has had on the city. It has been a game-changer, with everybody wanting to experience it.” Neumann/Smith’s project manager for the M@dison renovation was J. Michael Kirk, AIA, LEED® AP BD+C, principal; the project architect was David Masco AIA (retired); and Jaimelyn Neher LEED® AP®BD+C, handled design. “There is a new energy in and around the M@dison Building that has transformed the area into a hub for high-tech professionals to live, work and play,” said Jim Ketai, managing partner with Bedrock Real Estate Services. “The building is 100 percent occupied, and the neighborhood is buzzing with activity. Being part of the M@dison Building’s reinvention has been among the most rewarding experiences of my real estate career.” Bedrock is a property management firm based in downtown Detroit that specializes in purchasing, leasing, financing, developing and managing commercial space. It is part of Rock Ventures LLC, the umbrella entity formed to provide operational coordination, guidance and integration of Rock Ventures’ and Quicken Loans’ Founder and “Voice Of The Construction Industry”®
Available online at www.cammagazineonline.com
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PHOTO BY JUSTIN MACONOCHIE PHOTOGRAPHY
technology entrepreneurs could collaborate and benefit from their Chairman Dan Gilbert’s portfolio of companies, investments and real proximity to one another. That some of their team members might estate. choose to live and play, as well as work, in downtown Detroit was “Anchor tenants focused on entrepreneurship and creativity, like also part of the goal. Detroit Venture Partners, Bizdom and Skidmore Studio, perfectly The M@dison has put that goal well on its way. Once the center of demonstrate our long-term vision for downtown Detroit,” Ketai the burgeoning entertainment industry in 1920s Detroit, the added. “The amazing work of the architects, designers and M@dison is now becoming one of the pioneering centers for contractors involved helped create a distinct space and successful technology company development in the Detroit of 2012. redevelopment of a historic building that is a remarkable feat in our city’s ongoing revitalization. And we’re just getting started.” It’s a “destination,’ noted John Olszewski, vice president for construction with Bedrock, which oversaw the purchase and subsequent renovation that transformed the 95-year-old building into a modern, edgy and open space. It was re-named the M@dison, with the “@” used purposefully to demonstrate the building’s emphasis on young technology entrepreneurs. In January 2011, more than a decade after the last attempts by others to resuscitate the property, Gilbert acquired it, with the idea of creating a hub for high-tech entrepreneurial activity and special events. The refurbished M@dison, at 1555 Broadway, is currently home to more than 20 technology or creativity-based companies, many of them start-ups. Besides the youthful, hip, techcentric design, it has also attracted tenants with the camaraderie and collaboration that the design fosters. Featuring several large open spaces, the building invites Newly crafted artistic signs recall the M@dison’s former life as a 1920s-era movie palace. The signs feature key words in Dan Gilbert’s vision for Detroit as a place to Live, Work, Play. communication among its tenant companies. “It all started with a vision,” Olszewski said of theM@dison. “Each of Rock Ventures’ buildings According to his Quicken Loans website, Gilbert made a is different. This one was set up to lure venture companies that are commitment in 2009 “ … to play a role in developing a creative, not necessarily part of the Rock Ventures family,”although its Detroit tech-focused urban core where people want to live, work and play,” Venture Partners, Bizdom and Doodle Home are anchor tenants. imagining a tech hub he labeled “WEBward Avenue.” The vision was Gilbert also created Bizdom, a non-profit that provides the support, that the work environment should reflect the lifestyles of the resources and mentoring to help aspiring entrepreneurs get their workers who use the space, explained Todd Sachse, president of businesses off the ground. Gilbert is also one of four partners of Sachse Construction, Birmingham, the construction manager on the Detroit Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in earlyproject. And it was to lure young workers especially back into the stage technology companies. The other partners are Josh city, Neumann/Smith’s Neher added. “The genius of this project was LinknerCEO, Brian Hermelin and Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Linkner is a the vision articulated by the owner,” Sachse said. tech entrepreneur and the founder of ePrize; Hermelin is the The Madison Theater was built in 1917 by owner John Kusky and founder of the private equity investment firm Rockbridge Growth renowned theater architect C. Howard Crane, who specialized in Equity; and Johnson is, well, Johnson, the hall of fame basketball star, designing elaborate early 20th Century “movie palaces.” According entrepreneur and philanthropist. to historicdetroit.org, the 1,806-seat theater opened on March 7, After the Madison Theater shuttered for the final time in 1984, its 1917, and was the first of the grand theaters that Crane would marquee advertising the last film to be played there, “The Dead design. As were many theaters of that era, the Madison was built Zone,” ironically remained for more than 20 years. The City of Detroit, with an office building attached to provide additional commercial once called the “Paris of the Midwest” in part due to its architecture, space for the growing office clientele. The office building’s classical was on a downward slope. The theater portion of the structure was design was removed by a modern facelift in 1961 and the theater torn down in 2000 to make way for a surface parking lot, and the succumbed in 1984 to the declining movie trade downtown. It remaining five-story attached office building remained unoccupied eventually was purchased by the Michigan Opera Theater, which and deteriorating. had plans to restore it for live, small stage productions. That project was abandoned and the building was sold in early 2000. The new A REALLY FAST RENOVATION owner’s plan to develop the office portion of the building into loft Following a six-month renovation started in May 2011 and condominiums also faltered, and some initial repair work ended. completed in November of the same year, the building is “dead” no The new M@dison’s design, executed by Neumann/Smith and more. The hope was that the success of the building in attracting its Rock Ventures’ Doodle Home, features open interiors and generous target tenants would spur similar development elsewhere meeting and seating areas that foster communication among the downtown. Gilbert’s dream was to provide a space where
PHOTO BY JUSTIN MACONOCHIE PHOTOGRAPHY
A variety of seating adds communicating or relaxing space around a core of work stations for tenants.
building’s various tenants. Edgy and sometimes humorous graphics, partial walls covered with IdeaPaint so they can be scribbled on and dry-erased, and seating areas circling a core of workspaces encourage tenants to congregate or collaborate informally. The building features spaces on the 2nd through 4th floors for anchor businesses and a “desk-for-a-day” environment for enterprising “techies” who might come into the building. A combination of conventional and unusual seating in the spaces that rim the open work stations includes a hanging swing. A variety of wall art is youthful and innovative, but it remains in keeping with the Design/Build team’s desire to incorporate as much of the old building with the new while maintaining a spirit of freedom. Existing graffiti, for instance, was left in place on several of the old masonry walls, and fabricator markings on new steel were left exposed. “It was artwork,” Smith said. The design also tips its hat to the old theater, with decorative signage created from steel beams and Hollywood lights reminiscent of the theater’s marquee, featuring single words that are key elements
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of Rock Ventures’ philosophy about the “new” Detroit: Live, Work and Play. A JEWEL WITH GREAT VIEWS One of the jewels of the renovation is the stunning, approximately 8,500-square-foot rooftop terrace that provides unobstructed views of Grand Circus Park, Comerica Park and northward up Woodward Avenue to the Fox Theater. The space contains two bars, a commercial kitchen with three barbecues, and multiple flat screen televisions. In the raised center portion of the terrace, modern furniture tops flooring constructed of recycled concrete pavers set on one-foot high pedestals over a membrane to provide drainage. A wood slat floor around the perimeter is also set on a series of wood sleeper pedestals. “All of the water perks through the pavers and into the roof drains,” Smith said. Three elevators, one of them a freight elevator, service the building. Mechanicals for the structure are placed out of view on top of the service elevator. A 42-inch-high railing constructed with capped masonry posts and stainless steel cables rims the terrace to enhance the mostly unobstructed city views. The look is modern, with lighting and touches of wood and foliage to soften the space. At nearly 10,000 square feet, the building’s 5th floor offers open gathering spaces, a two-story auditorium, two private conference rooms, lounge seating and tables, plus a full catering kitchen and bar facilities. A skylight brings in enough natural light during the day that the space is usable without having to turn on the lights. Multiple tall windows provide views on the east and north sides. Italian tile and light fixtures in the modern bathroom compliment polished concrete floors and countertops. The wall tile is a taupe-grey color around the countertop, while white tiles, some with a three dimensional design on the face to add artistic detail, are used at the other end of the space. The 135-seat auditorium on the 5th floor is “all new,” Neher said. “It didn’t exist before the renovation.” Colorful acoustical tiles line the walls, and each seat in the auditorium is fitted with a collapsible laptop platform with power available for re-charging equipment. The auditorium is equipped with full light rigging, and the room is acoustically suitable as a small performance venue. The south end of the first floor features independent coffee shop Chez Zara, a reception area for upper floor tenants, and an Italian restaurant anchors the northeast corner. The remaining floors of the building Available online at www.cammagazineonline.com
each feature a core of work stations surrounded by a rim of open meeting spaces. Skidmore Studio, a creative company, moved to Detroit from Royal Oak last year and occupies the entire 4th floor. Each floor is distinguished from the others with graphics, furniture and modern LED lighting that contrast with the existing vintage structure. Exposed original clay tiles were left in place on the ceilings and re-
patched where structural bracing was needed, or covered where required. Floor steel decks were sprayed with K-13 acoustic spray for noise reduction and insulation. Steel was left exposed on the existing stairs between the second and third floors and is incorporated into the stairwell design. Stair treads were constructed of reclaimed barn wood to add to the vintage look, while adding warmth to the space. Reclaimed barn
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PHOTO BY CURT CLAYTON, CLAYTON STUDIO, DETROIT & TORONTO
The stunning 8,500-square-foot rooftop terrace features a commercial kitchen, two bars, three barbeques, multiple flat screens, and gorgeous views of the city and its sports venues.
wood was also used in private offices and in reception areas. Two types of large colorful graphics are used throughout the space. Some are manufactured papers with bold abstract designs and others are large murals, with some custom designed and created or executed either by Neumann/Smith’s Neher or by Doodle Home, a Rock Ventures’ Webbased interior design firm that worked with the architect on interior design for the project. One of the purchased wallpapers graphically depicts aspects of city living, including fire hydrants, streetlights and foliage. The first floor lobby graphic is a large aerial map of early-1920s Detroit that has been enhanced with neon lights highlighting major streets and noting the location of the M@dison with a “You Are Here!” sign. Fathead, best known for its lifesized wall graphics of sports and entertainment personalities, and another of Rock Ventures 50 companies, created many of the stunning graphics that cover entire wall expanses. Crisp black and white early 20th century photos of downtown Detroit and the M@dison are especially dramatic. LOTS OF CHALLENGES The M@dison renovation presented various challenges and obstacles, notably the owner’s need to be able to have the building occupied only six months after its purchase in January 2011. To meet that
demanding schedule, the owner, architect and contractor agreed to a Design/Build strategy. Some construction actually began before the design was completed, Bedrock’s Oleszewski said, praising both the contractor and design team for their “flexibility” in dealing with “lots of changes, lots of unforeseen issues.” For example, stair assemblies weren’t supported, and they discovered that one exterior wall was not reinforced. In addition, construction on the project was actually started before there was a design, he said, further complicating the project execution. “I commend both groups, architects and contractors, for trying to implement the design and construction simultaneously,” Olszewski said. Smith agreed, noting “the joke was that this was a Build/Design project,” he said, attributing the quip to Todd Sachse. “We built something, and then figured out how to design it.” When the design team first entered the building, not much remained of the interior. “It showed a lot of water damage,” architect Smith recounted, “and not a whole lot else. There were stairs and elevator shafts but no elevators, and that’s about it.” There were few interior walls. Perhaps the biggest challenge from a design perspective, Smith said, was organizing the mechanical and electrical systems. “You want it to look good,” he said, “but you also want it to work well.” Dealing
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with the inadequacies of the building within the timeframe allowed was another big challenge, he said, and designing and realizing the rooftop terrace rounds out his top three challenges. Team collaboration from start to finish was required, Sachse said, to “get it done on the fly … to take the owner’s vision and deliver it in an unconscionable amount of time.” Details, such as the urban-inspired wallpaper and graffiti left in place, “started to hone in during construction,” Neher noted. She said visits by the client during construction usually “brought with them another ‘Aha’ moment,” among them, using some of Gilbert’s favorite “isms” (words of wisdom) to decorate the frosted glass stair railings. For Sachse, it was the very fine installation and craftsmanship required on new materials brought into a very old and neglected building, and accomplishing their installation very, very quickly. “The schedule and the construction techniques and materials were challenging,” Sachse said, explaining that they were bringing new materials into a “very raw” building and those materials were going to be exposed and become part of the design, upping the ante for their installation. He noted, for example, that the joints and finishing on the reclaimed barn wood were “like casework” and done with “tremendous precision” and with very high quality. Also challenging the project was the tight, urban site at the corner of Witherell and Broadway Streets, across from Grand Circus Park on the north, with the Detroit People Mover track running on Broadway St. along the building’s east façade. The building itself occupies the entire site, with the exception of the small surface parking lot, which was used for a construction office and small staging area. All deliveries, Sachse said, were scheduled in a “just-in-time” manner and, because there was no elevator, they all had to be lifted to their appropriate floor using boom trucks of various sizes, or carried by hand to their destination inside the structure.“Not a single piece of equipment could be fed into the building from that side because of the People Mover track,” Sachse explained. No lost-time incidents marred the renovation of the M@dison. Sachse’s safety director, Doug Henderson, conducted safety training and orientation classes for all workers before they were allowed on site. Regular safety inspections were performed throughout construction to ensure that all trades and vendors adhered to Sachse’s policies. “Voice Of The Construction Industry”®
1 *#1 Y 1#04'!# Y . 021 Y 0#,2 * MODERN ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS & ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS The M@dison was fitted with a two-pipe water loop heat pump system, using individually zoned water-to-air heat pumps. The system has three high-efficiency condensing boilers to add supplemental heat to the loop piping, and a cooling tower to reject excess heat. This type of water loop heat pump system efficiently transfers and recycles the building load. Heat that is removed from the first floor restaurant, for instance, can be conditioned and added to the loop to heat offices on the fourth floor. Outside air is directed through a Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) that removes the energy from exhausted air either heated or cooled, and transfers it to the incoming outside air. The HRV recovers about 80% of the energy from the exhaust air, which otherwise would simply be lost. Individual heat pumps were hidden above the enclosed offices, which lowered the ceilings in those office spaces, but which allowed one heat pump per run to feed between the structures.
Access to the plenum for these runs, which also contain the sprinkler mains, is superinsulated and isolated to control noise in the offices below. As might be expected, the entire building, including the rooftop terrace, is wireless and has a direct point-to-point wireless bridge from the mainframe three blocks to the south. Three-bulb direct/indirect florescent lights were suspended parallel to the ductwork and sprinklers. The M@dison was foam air-sealed throughout, and superinsulated underneath the rooftop terrace’s floor. SMART Building energy credits have been approved for the new mechanical system upgrades and lighting systems. Renovation of the M@dison shows a commitment to conserving land and resources by its rehabilitation of a historic gem that had been abandoned for more than 20 years in the heart of downtown Detroit. “It demonstrates what you can accomplish with an old building when you re-purpose it,” Sachse enthused. The rooftop already has been used for many private events.
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