20SP Graduate Thesis Research Seminar | Preliminary Proposal

PROGRAMEDIATION The Role of Program in Urban Remediation ARCH 641 Graduate Thesis Research Seminar Spring Semester | 2020 Skyler Moncada

Contents Introduction

001

Life, and Other Class Assignments

003

The Importance of Place

005

Advantage of the Image of the Ruin

007

Reflections on the Research Process

N/A

Reflections on the Design Process

N/A

“Visiting� Detroit

009

RESEARCH PHASE Abstract

011

Problem Statement

013

Project Statement

015

Design Intentions

017

Site Identification

019

Program Outline

029

Clients and Users

033

Environmental Report

037

Precedent Analyses

041

Annotated References

053

Image Sources

055

Selected Essays N/A

DESIGN PHASE Investigations of Scale Schematic Design

Not Added (Yet)

001

Introduction We like to think that civilizations are solid, foundational creations, but they are generally confections: concocted as much from color and air and spun sugar as they are from butter, cream, flour. Half vital force, half uninterrogated tradition, they become more glorious, as they grow in confidence, and more unstable‌ Anne Washburn

Maybe I was sheltered growing up, or maybe I had watched far too many cartoons about mystery solving teenagers and dogs, but one thing was certain: I never loved going anywhere close to abandoned buildings. Junkyards, factories, parking lots with poor landscaping; even the sight of these places petrified me.

Why couldn’t they be replaced with something beautiful and inviting, like more houses?

That would make me feel safe.

Of course I grew up, and I went on to learn that when a building fails in the United States, it more often than not faces two different fates: a slow and meticulous slide into dereliction, picked clean by scrappers and bludgeoned by time, and then the eventual demolition. With very few exceptions, even despite a positive structural outlook, there is a tendency to ignore a critical examination of that slow descent into shabbiness, instead erasing the project from the world. A decade ago, I might have met this realization with elation - no more scary ruins!

In reality, the ruins were never scary. They were an unfinished design, now awaiting a new opportunity. They do not want to be ruined any more than a dead tree on the forest floor wants to be dead, and neither wishes to face the wood chipper. When a tree falls in the woods, it is gradually absorbed by its context. Insects hollow it out, moss and flora grow, the lifeblood becomes fertilizer. In architecture, there is a similar opportunity for those willing to look into chipped paint and scuffed floors, missing windows, and impromptu exhibits of graffiti.

This thesis is not about looking past these elements of time, but more about looking into what ruins will become, in a place with a magnificent surplus.

DETROIT SKYLINE, Date Unknown

002

Camilo Jose Vergara

003

This essay used to be called “The Importance of Making Decisions,” but I felt that it was unfair to leave it that way, seeing as I spent months worrying over whether or not I should even bother writing it. In its original conception I had intended to opine on the struggle of gaining confidence in design, and how to move forward with decisions that one wasn’t entirely happy with. At some point in the process, I found myself agonizing over the size of the text, and the typeface I would use for at least an hour, before realizing that maybe I had entirely missed the point myself.

I scrapped most of what I had written, and took another shot at explaining why it was so crucial that designers be able to quickly decide upon roofing material and wall construction, or the just-right cant of a roofing element to capture the evocative spirit of the site. Before long, I was writing about life and drawing sketches over a BLT on rye bread.w About five minutes before my alarm would go off and usher me on to the next bit of work on my schedule, I had the epiphany that maybe an essay was far too long and repetitive for me to express what I wanted to say, so I cut pages of anecdotes and paragraphs and tangents down into a more manageable size. No more essays on making decisions. I would just write what I had wanted to say into a sentence (or two?) and be done with it. That didn’t quite work out as I had intended either, but I did finally write about the subject I had started with in the first place, rather than about the contents of my refrigerator.

1.1. Life, and Other Class Assignments

As an architect, it is a necessity to make choices throughout the day because a design is only alive so long as it is being supplemented by work. Sketches are often beautiful and evocative, but they don’t keep the rain off your back. In the introduction to this thesis, I used a quote by Anne Washburn who was writing for The Wes Anderson Collection regarding his film The Grand Budapest Hotel. She mentions that civilizations are confections - half vital structure, half decorum.

Architecture is very much the same way, and the most crucial element of this profession is the orchestration of its many sentient parts into a cohesive place for humans to inhabit in one way or another. It means that you are a designer by 10 o’clock you are a designer, a humanist by 11, and a builder by noon, to paraphrase Renzo Piano. As in everyday life -- the bills must be paid, the cats must be fed, and laundry must be washed. The thing that often stops design decisions from being made in my own work, is that the problem being addressed is not framed adequately.

322 Words

What is most crucial in the design of a school theatre is not whether the seats reach 45 or 52 centimeters, but whether or not parents and peers will be able to see their friends performing. It is not about the handrail being 5cm in diameter, but being a material and form that is comfortable to hold while climbing up the stairs to the library.

When a design regards requirements as the effect, decisions become the cause.

The process does not become tangled in the bureaucracy of how, and instead responds rapidly to the designer’s why. The cause and effect of architectural thought is often limited only by the fear of details we can’t control, and wastes creative energy that has a short half-life on the details of code rather than more creative construction.

DETROIT SKYLINE, 2015

Camilo Jose Vergara

005

Federico Puggioni, Castelvecchio Museum

006

1.2. The Importance of Place

443 Words

“We all retain memories of places. They identify who we are as individuals. At the same time, they tie us to networks of people, culture, and society. Even through time, they reach into the past to people whose lives and experiences were as real as ours, and into the future to those whose lives we can only imagine.”

Frances Downing

Generally speaking, architects agree with this assessment. From Norman Foster’s essentially unknown future, to Frank Gehry’s speaking of time and place while yearning for timelessness. Place is physical and tactile; even as time passes, it is still possible to design with a touch that defines different interventions.

Carlo Scarpa’s work reflects this best, I think.

His work at the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona, rearranging and tempering the exploratoration of this 14th century marvel spoke to a deep empathy for the life of the building, and a respect for the work that went into its creation.

He was hired to display an upcoming exhibit, but was brought in to be involved in the restoration of a badly mistreated element of history, which had suffered various heavy-handed restorations that merely attempted to copy the past and poorly mirrored their authentic inspirations. His adjustments to the layout of

the museum and her displays came from an understanding of time as a method of refinement in architecture. Ultimately, places are felt. They may change hands, suffer neglect or enjoy broad support, but they are extensions of time. This is true of the grandest national gallery, or the most humble crumbling stone wall at the property line of a New England farm.

“H E WA S AWA R E O F T H E P R E CA R I O U S N E S S O F H I S TO R I CA L T I M E, PO S S E S S I N G A LOV E O F E AC H I N S TA N T, A CO N C E R N F O R R E F I N E M E N T, T H E W I SD O M T H AT L I E S I N A S E N S E O F M E A S U R E CA PAB L E O F S E L E CT I N G A N D S E PA RAT I N G, D E S C R I B I N G A N D D E CO RAT I N G.”

“

Places and memories have one common thread; they are unique in time and space. What is considered most important in architecture is the ability to transcend that thread, viewing both the start and the end of it, or at the very least the burls down the line. We must be able to see a place at its earliest in history, recognize what it has become in the present, and determine what it will become in the future.

This is a difficult and time consuming process, often flush with uncertainties. Koolhaas refers to this idea as a necessity of the profession -- the two lives of the building. One we imagine, and one the building lives aftwards, where the two are never the same.

The importance of place is impossible to overstate, and the reverence for which it should be treated is at the pinnacle of any meaningful intervention. For what other reason do we study architecture in lands with buildings tens of centuries as old as our own families? We’re there to learn of who has the blessed providence to live where others once built, and loved, and passed on - otherwise, just to drink overpriced coffee.

Quote attributed to historians Francesco Dal Co + Giuseppe Mazzariol

007

Sean Hemmerle

008

1.3. The Advantage of the Image of the Ruin

505 Words

I like ruins because what remains is not the total design, but the clarity of thought, the naked structure, the spirit of the thing.

Tadao Ando

When we see a ruin, a brownfield site, an empty plot of land with a single stone wall at knee height defining the perimeter, there is a visceral response deep within. Typically, I wonder what it used to be like and, if it’s interesting enough, I don’t just move on with my day. I investigate, wander around and through, maybe try to find some markings or writings reflecting the history of the thing. In architecture, that moment of wonder and consideration usually comes in two forms; wonder, as in the sense of awe at something spectacular or unexpected, and wonder as in the deep consideration of something present.

The former is often felt while looking at a truly spectacular project; the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, or the Eiffel Tower from its base. The latter is most often piqued by something we either don’t understand, or want to understand - often ruins. These can present as lost cities as in Machu Picchu, or something as simple as old factory buildings closed for fifty years.

This moment of engagement is more than just a passing thought in an otherwise normal day: it is a commodity.

When Frank Ghery built the Guggenheim in Bilbao, it was met with a universal syncronis of opinions by Architects, Media, and Citizens.

Radical designs began to pop up all over the world in order to see the same effects that Bilbao experienced to the tune of a 2500% increase in tourism. Architecture left its pendulous path in history between experimentation and classical safety and became a part of the contemporary. With the advent of a widely accessible internet, Architecture and feedback entered into a system of feedback. Citizens no longer needed to submit to something they

had not seen before and designs became rooted in the present. The advantage of these newer designs is the pure spectacle of creative freedoms. They became removed from context, and their history became unimportant: they were writing their history in real time.

In contrast, ruins are rooted in context.

When history becomes lost and edifice is all that remains, it becomes important to rediscover what once made these places special, and this process encourages exploration, even adventure. Carlo Scarpa understood this best throughout his career, and made a tremendous impact on the world through projects so engaging and so rooted in history, that they simply had to be felt in person - The Museo di Castelvecchio in Verona comes to mind.

This key difference becomes the greatest advantage of the ruin. When all that is left is the core of the idea that once existed, it can become integrated into something new and exciting without the challenge of reengaging context. It is already partially physical, tangible. It is not something that needs to be entirely imagined by the average person because it is already standing in front of them, waiting for the next intervention. If ever people once walked its halls, or climbed its walls, or ate from its garden, they can again.

They might even want to.

009

1.4. “Visiting” Detroit

In another life, in another year, at another time, I might have been lucky enough to visit Motown. I might have hit a concert in Corktown, stopped for a Perch sandwich at the PYC, and made time to see the progress on the Dequindre Cut. I might have walked the Waterfront and biked over the bridge to Belle Isle to see the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, and visit Albert Khan’s Belle Isle Aquarium, the oldest in the United States.

In fairness, I would have visited a lot of Khan’s work, given his incredible 400+ designs across the city. While as many as 900 of his designs could be inhabiting Motor City, the odds of finding one as a ruin or a functioning staple of Downtown are somewhat unequal.

As much as I wouldn’t want to play into or encourage the stereotypes of the city, I think it would be disingenuous to say that I wouldn’t be excited to park in Michigan Theatre, or wouldn’t want to grab an aisle seat in St. Agnes Cathedral - maybe front row at the Grande Ballroom. I spent a lot of time over this Summer researching Khan’s Roosevelt Warehouse, the Packard Plant (luckily beginning to see some real progress in its renovations). A very special place in my heart exists for the rubble of the “Seven Sisters” and “Two Brothers” now cleared

400 Words

from the old site of Connors Creek, those even-heighted smoke stacks that sailors used to use to guide themselves home.

All of these places used to hold so many different lives in so many different ways.

Communities used to be forged by these old American architectural ancients.

There was a lot of history in Detroit. There still is, and so much is a being written everyday. Although I’m no Detroit native, I want to be there. I want to live amongst the people who have held on through the most spectacular collapse of an American metropolis. I am privileged enough to have “visited” Detroit in photos and videos. I’ve watched documentaries and poured over photographs from newspapers and more dubious sources. I’ve listened to concerts from Detroit speakeasies and even made a recipe or two out of the Detroit Free Press. The only thing missing now is to meet the people who have helped me along the way with this research.

I hope through this thesis that I might be afforded that chance.

Photos per Chris + Michelle Gerard

010

Belle Isle Conservatory, 1904

Belle Isle Conservatory, 2014

011

Abstract

A design isn’t finished until someone is using it.

Brenda Laurel

In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use that may be potentially contaminated. The term is also used to describe land previously used for industrial or commercial purposes with known or suspected pollution including soil contamination due to hazardous waste.

Brownfields occupy a substantial volume of land in otherwise desirable locations across the United States, providing tremendous opportunities to the cities, towns, and people for whom they sit idle to provide needed public or private programs.

While these locations are exceedingly well documented given the circumstances, they are vast in number, scale, and appropriate or positive use.

In recognizing their prevalence, a common line of thought began to emerge: How and when do brownfields initially develop?

What are some of the common factors that contribute to their idle conditions? How can these areas be used as a force for positive development without contributing further to urban sprawl, or being left as blights on otherwise thriving communities? Even further:

Could it have been prevented from the outset?

No, most likely not. Construction design is a forward-thinking affair only insofar as there is an immediate problem to be solved, or the funds to support a project to completion. Very rarely does it receive the support necessary to extend further beyond. This unfortunately leaves little room for a type of designed resilience that might withstand significant societal or economic shifts.

However, this is not true where a building stands, but people have left - in projects where the bones are good, but the soul is absent, and a revival is possible. In these cases, the question of “could it have been prevented?� still lingers, but does not dominate the space. It has been replaced by a separate line of thought. There is an ethereal quality to ruin that makes us wonder; How can we ensure that when this happens again, that the soul remains - more resilient than ever before?

EDMUND PLACE 1987, 2000, 2005, 2015

012

Camilo Jose Vergara

013

014

Problem Statement

Brownfield Sites number at roughly 450,000 in the United States per the EPA, consuming approximately 96,039 acres of land in 159 cities. Average site size ranged between 5 and 15 acres, with 123 cities estimating 2,579 of their brownfield sites to be “mothballed.”

By their nature, brownfield sites present a looming threat to urban health, and multiple efforts have been put forth by state and local governmental bodies to begin combating the growing issue. However, the goal of these programs often falls into the realm of the non-specific.

By their very nature, brownfield sites require specificity. The environmental implications present paired with their valuable urban context often lends them to be neglected due to the necessity of substantial and varied labor. In areas where these various talents cannot be sourced or attracted, brownfields may be “mothballed,” cleaned and not programmed, or cleaned and programmed up to substandard conditions.

2013 MAP OF SUPERFUND, RCRA, AND BROWNFIELD SITES, US EPA.

To complicate the process, brownfield sites must run the gamut of stringent and hyper-specific regulatory and legal bodies to be considered for remediation at all. Many public bodies are eager to take on these projects, but often do not have the resources available to do so in a way that benefits the general public.

What to do with the buildings and land left behind as people disappeared? When communities experience tremendous growth or decline, how must these projects react? Does there need to be an immediate solution?

Further, not all land is public land, but public program is the surest way to revive a ruin. As such, brownfields represent a unique opportunity to be a vehicle for change in the communities they inhabit.

As an architect, the considerations they demand are both practical, and academic.

015

Project Statement The public isn’t interested in thirty years, they’re interested in thirty months [from now].

Maurice Cox

Brownfield sites are numerous, as have been remediation projects in the past 25 years.

While the most visible and substantial tend to be formerly private industrial sites, they are often joined by community buildings and areas of dwelling that offer the opportunity to explore public space and forums, where communities who have abandoned areas are invited back to characterize them once again.

These are our schools, our places of worship, where we gather for sporting events and once manufacture(d) goods: Brownfields and blight do not discriminate, though their patterns of growth can be measured and predicted. The question quickly becomes, why not demolish?

This is a bad habit, practiced in simpler times.

Often, the architectural profession has aimed to be specific in rigid directions:

All architecture exists physically, stationary, in a constantly changing landscape. In situations where there is positive growth, new projects represent success and prosperity. In decline, architecture faces unique adaptive challenges. If the building cannot change, it is left to ruin. But, when institution becomes edifice, program remains.

A school is now an auditorium, office space, a gymnasium, a cafeteria, a swimming pool and a library.

A church is now a community gathering place: an amphitheater, a concert hall, the neighborhood forum.

The parking garage becomes a drive-in movie theatre on Fridays after 7PM.

In the case of brownfield sites, and indeed large scale remediation projects, the aim should instead be:

Life can once again exist and evolve in these places. They do not need to be one entity - they may exist as several, with a shared connective tissue.

Together they share the burden of the building, upon the shoulders of an entire community rather than a sole proprietor.

program-follows-people.

This approach is PROGRAMEDIATION.

form-follows-function.

WAITING ROOM, MICHIGAN CENTRAL RAILROAD DEPOT, 1973-2010

Dave Jordano

017

Design Intentions

What kind of architecture will we create when buildings are no longer instruments of financial accumulation? What structures will be made as collective acts of cultural expression rather than as financial ventures?

Phineas Harper

At its core, this project is architectural adaptation with a fluid approach to the program. Buildings are left behind when times change and their sole function becomes unsustainable, as evidenced by the many Detroit churches chronicalled by photographer Camilo Jose Vergaro. The goal of PROGRAMEDIATION is to remove the subtext that a building is much like a paper plate - single use and disposable.

User Profiles What community will reinhabit this design? Are they the same people who used it originally, or have the demographics shifted? What needs are not being met within this community, and can this project fulfill them? Can this project adopt existing community fixtures like theatre troupes or local businesses to more immediately be integrated into daily life?

The difference between typical practices and this design is that the remediation process is contingent to the design of a multi-layered program at all stages, so that it is resistant to significant economic downturns. Rather than posing well constructed but relatively unfeasible budget plans to completely renew spaces that are perfectly beautiful and functional in their own right, the design layers progress over time that prioritizes the use of the spaces first above cosmetic efforts. To do this, there have been three significant considerations that have driven site selection and program development.

Mixed-Use Typologies Which programmatic elements will compliment each other and promote consistent use throughout the day, week, and year? In what order should the remediation be performed?

Public Space Typologies How much of the building should be considered for public use? Are all existing spaces in any condition to continue functioning as intended, or do individual spaces need significant adaptation to serve the community?

018

Existing Conditions New Structure

OMA Garage Museum of Contemporary Art

019

MICHIGAN, USA 1:200mi

DETROIT 1:50mi

DETROIT 1:10mi

020

Site Identification

Detroit is a storied city within the United States, beginning its legacy as one of our great urban centers in 1701 as a French settlement. By 1760, she had been claimed by the British, and by 1791 was firmly in American hands, beginning her tenure as an important Michigan foothold permanently by 1815. Detroit remained largely a commercial center for surrounding agricultural land until the 1870s, when manufacturing began to dominate.

By the 1960’s, and the Civil Rights Movement had gained traction, and the city began to desegregate its many institutions. Detroit Public Schools especially felt the effects of this process, as some of its top learning institutions that previously had allowed very few nonwhite students now shifted towards more even demographics.

It was the start of “white flight,” where an economically empowered and socially mobile black middle class left the inner city for neighborhoods that until a few years’ prior had been closed off to them. White families, fearing integration began leaving for the suburbs in droves, leading to a decrease in enrollment.

With the further development of the Interstate Highway System following World War II that shifted the tax base out of the city, and the eventual onset of urban decay, among other common causes.

From that point forward, the story of Michigan became one of industry, resilience, and innovation amongst a predominantly black population known for their courage and pursuit of wholly American lifestyles. This identity was driven by the advent of the Automotive Industry, introduced by Ford in 1898. Detroit was well positioned to take advantage of the emergence of automobile manufacturing at the start of the 20th century. A number of visionary entrepreneurs designed automobiles that appealed to ordinary Americans, resulting in automobiles be- The reasons are varied as ever, but inexcoming a mass market. plicably delivered Detroit to her proverbial rock-bottom: 2013.

The city was geographically advantageous, connected centrally in the United Chapter 9 Bankruptcy.

States by the transcontinental railroad, and already featured a trained workforce 130mi2 of blighted public property. that could easily transition into factory work. This promoted the movement of A city of over two million, now inhabitfamilies into Detroit for work opportuni- ed by no more than 692,000. ties, safe suburbs, and a culturally significant downtown sector. As a result, the greatest concentration of automobile manufacturing in America has consistently been in Detroit, at once holding the headquarters of Ford, Chrystler, and GenContinued on following spread. eral Motors.

The Motor City’s publicly owned land numbers at 131 mi2, greater than the land area of Manhattan.

Detroit has experienced a population loss of roughly 60% between 1950 and 2019.

021

The following years showed slow, but steady change. Mayor Mike Duggan took office in 2014, declaring that his goal was to be the first sitting mayor in over 60 years to see the population of Detroit GROW, rather than decline. He in turn began the process of hiring Architect and Urban Planner Maurice Cox to head the Detroit Planning Commission, who spearheaded a number of important redevelopment plans that persist in Detroit’s efforts to reverse her fortunes today. Namely, the extensive mapping of blighted properties and public land, the securing of public space in the Downtown and Riverfront, and the application of smooth growth models to the recovery of various neighborhoods.

One particular strategy coined by Cox as “tactical preservation” displayed remarkable

promise for saving historic properties through incremental use, although the further application of this process years after the initial reuse has not yet been explored.

Due to the production and testing of these various concepts, and the extensive number of strategies employed within the city, Detroit has become an ideal test-bed for more practical solutions. PROGRAMEDIATION is very much a methodology that relies on engrained local culture and the preservation of architecture that would otherwise be erased. Of all the American cities explored, Detroit displays the most opportunities for this strategy to not only be effective, but to allow local populations to thrive off of the resultant developments.

Additive Site Selection

Site identification depends on two significant factors: specific site versus specific typology, and recognition of need. If the project requires very specific conditions, or is inspired by one location, then there is only the issue of establishing need.

If a project can be done in a variety of locations, and does not require a single specific location at the outset, then all possibilities must be identified and examined.

Additive Site Selection is dependent on this second scenario. By choosing a typology that fit with the idea of a dormant public program, I was able to locate a wide variety of potential sites. Foreclosed Public Schools fit the criteria, holding ample space for flexible uses, and capable of being reconfigured to an area’s specific needs.

I identified the potential project area of Detroit, located the SNF Rehabilitation districts that Detroit is currently committed to, located major circulation corridors and paths of planned

and enacted public greenways. These identifiers told me where a significant focus of the city was already centered, and began to show areas where there was a deficit of public resources.

Locations of Public Program with community resources were identified in Libraries, Parks, and Community Centers that often fulfill functions such as safe recreation, access to internet, continuing education, and participation in local government. The 19 identifiable foreclosed public schools that then passed on a basic investigation of structural integrity, secure envelope, and occupiable surrounding neighborhoods were added to the summative map.

Continued on following spread.

MAJOR CIRCULATION ROUTES

RIVERWALK GREENWAYS

CLOSED SCHOOL BUILDINGS

VARIABLE PUBLIC WORKS

SELECTED SNF DISTRICTS

DETROIT FOOTPRINT

REMOVED CIRCULATION SITES

REMOVED GREENWAY SITES

PUBLIC WORKS OPTIONS

COOLEY HIGH SCHOOL REMOVED SNF DISTRICTS

20 MINUTE WALKABILITY

024

This approach to site selection was inspired by Ian McHarg’s lauded Ecological Determinism outlined in his book Design With Nature. The concept utilized the existing corridors and matrices of living systems to determine the best possible path of human intervention with minimal negative impact on life. In the urban environment, these corridors exist in their own ways as well, and can be used to identify areas where life can be notably improved rather than areas with a resistant deficit.

Subtractive Site Selection

Following the overlay of a 20 minute walking radius to the diagram, the method of subtractive selection begins. This process constitutes the removal of sites that show a less immediate and substantial need for remediation through a variety of the factors identified in the additive phase. I wanted to identify a site that would be capable of serving all of a community’s missing public program.

Any sites that were identified within SNF neighborhoods were removed, as these schools demonstrated potential to be reopened as the neighborhoods began the recovery process.

Next, sites along major circulation routes, or that had been connected to the expanding Greenway systems were eliminated for similar reasons. Sites were conclusively narrowed down when the existing Public Program was then taken into consideration, and only one option remained.

Cooley High School remained as a largely intact, significant historical building that faithfully served the various Northwestern neighborhoods of Detroit like Rosedale and Franklin Park since 1923. Structurally sound, multi-storied, secure envelope, and with existing interest in the preservation of over 300,000ft2 of recoverable public programs.

COOLEY HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK 1959

025

Cooley High School History

Designed by the famed Motor City architectural firm Donaldson and Meier in a Meditteranean Revival style, CHS opened its doors in September of 1928. The institution is located at the intersection of Hubbel and Chalfonte in Northwest Detroit, and quickly became one of her largest public schools. In line with the growth of the city, the school population grew from 1,570 students to 3,750. It was an incredibly attractive option for suburban white families moving further from downtown with facilities supporting a very wide range of sports and extracurricular pursuits, as well as a high standard of living for families.

Originally a majority white institution, the school desegregated during the 1960’s civil rights movements, often cited in local newspapers and by former CHS students as major drivers of school politics amongst the student bodies. Despite heightened racial tensions that were supposedly more extreme in CHS than other public schools, the institution managed to produce renowned scholars and athletes throughout its tenure, dominating Michigan sports in areas of Football, Basketball, and Track and Field. While sit-ins and protests marked the internal operations, race politics were often the biggest topic of discussion in the larger community.

“

I N T E G RAT I O N L A S T S F RO M T H E T I M E T H E F I R S T B L AC K F A M I LY M OV E S I N U N T I L T H E L A S T W H I T E F A M I LY M OV E S O U T,” A B L AC K M OT H E R TO L D T H E F R E E P R E S S. “ W H E N T H E L A S T W H I T E G O E S, A N D T H E Y W I L L P RO B A B LY G O, CO O L E Y’S S TA N DA R D S W I L L S TA RT TO D RO P A N D O U R K I D S WO N’T L E A R N A N YT H I N G. W H E N T H AT H A P P E N S, T H E R E WO N’T B E A N Y P L AC E F O R U S TO R U N. At the height of student tensions in the early 1970’s Principal Walter Jenkins was appointed and united the school once more by revolutionizing their handling of education and discipline, focusing on individuals and home life rather than

treating students as machines. CHS showed a return to educational and sporting excellence amidst student protests and sit-ins regarding racism, though the ultimate decline of the school began in the 1980’s following nearly ten years of academic dominance. Despite the school’s best efforts, they could not overcome Detroit’s trajectory.

B E TW E E N 1999 A N D 2012, OV E R $78 M I L L I O N D O L L A R S WA S S P E N T U PG RA D I N G S C H O O L S T H AT L AT E R C LO S E D. A N OT H E R $27 M I L L I O N D O L L A R S WA S I N V E S T E D I N S C H O O L S T H AT W E R E C LO S E D A N D D E M O L I S H E D A F E W Y E A R S L AT E R...

Nearby public schools began to shut down as in Redford, and Cooley’s enrollment continued falling to less than half of its peak, with leadership unable to remedy what would become a far more significant problem. Despite this, Detroit Public Schools continued to invest in the building: the auditorium was renovated in 2004, the towers restored in 2006, and the roof was replaced as part of $12.8 million dollars in improvements. A health clinic was added, and the vocational wing was converted into a special needs school. Unfortunately, CHS still closed along with 43 other Detroit Public Schools by 2010.

However, the post-closure story here differs from other cases across the Motor City. Though the neighborhood around the school had lost some population, it remained active and watched over the school closely. The running track and athletic fields continued to be used regularly, and for several years the school was well-secured. By 2012, the Cooley Reuse Project had been devised in order to attempt to restore the then mint-condition building to working order, although DPT remained steadfastly against the plan, despite plausible budgets and feasible reopening plans.

The attention brought on by this project unfortunately exposed the school to a litany of urban explorers and scrapper, and the eventual 3-alarm fire that torched the auditorium. Now the school sits idle, with a community anxious to see it used but without a way forward for the now less-thanmint facility. This proposal aims to change the optics through incremental-remediation efforts and community involvement.

Quotes attributed to The Detroit Free Press, and April Van Buren at MichiganRadio.org

“

You can still find her standing tall in Belmont, amidst the suburbs she used to serve. Cooley High School (CHS) is just over nine decades old this year but remains idle despite an 80 year legacy of education and sporting excellence - an unfortunate victim of Detroit’s previously cited decline.

FIG. 3 BUILDING BREAKDOWN

FIG. 2 SIGNIFICANT ZONES

FIG. 1 SUPPORTING LOCAL SCHOOLS

027

028

FIG. 1 There are eleven (11) schools from Elementary to High School Equivalent and Continuing Education in age range that are a 10-12 minute walk away. Outside of the one kilometer range, a further eight (8) schools would benefit within the one mile range, or within the goals of the 20-minute city set forth by Maurice Cox. These various institutions do not all have access to full scale gymnasiums, weight rooms, pools, or large scale lecture halls that Cooley could provide, along with a centralized Library or Media Center.

FIG. 2 Zone 1 - 350,000 ft2 This zone is constituted by four (4) tennis courts, a baseball and softball field, an outdoor track, and an open field with good soil conditions capable of hosting community gardens, soccer fields, outdoor events, or new construction.

Zone 2 - 150,000 ft2 This zone is the existing school building. There are four (distinct) areas understood as the North and South wings that host the majority of the classrooms and offices over three (3) floors, along with the core of the building that features the cafe, theatre and library. The last area is North of the main structure, and hosts all of the sports facilities.

FIG. 3 The North Wing and South Wings hold the classrooms and offices, which hold exceptional potential to be transformed as artists studios, affordable housing, CoWorking rent-able office spaces, or multi functional spaces.

The building Core hosts the Cafe, Library, and Theatre which are all prime to be revitalized within the purview of their original functions, granted some major adjustments and additions of appliances and fixtures. The Theatre will likely be the biggest project, considering it is questionable as to whether or not it can be truly restored, or whether it will be a point of restructuring.

The sports facilities can all likely return to function under independent management, likely with a partner organization.

029

Program Outline

The program is meant to be layered and paired over time to create spaces that are individual, but supplementary to each other. If one is improved, it benefits the community as a whole. Initial phases focus entirely on functionality, with the promise of aesthetic changes down the line once the project is serving the people.

Phase I The first phase of renovations would see the interior structures in need of stabilization retrofitted for safety, along with the introduction of community gardens on the fields, with a modest amount allocated for field management. A feasibility study for all of the interior areas would be performed to identify areas that require minimal immediate work to function. This will be paired with improvements to the surrounding streets, lights, and sidewalk. Security for the building will be acquired to maintain its current condition.

Phase II The second phase of renovations would identify one wing of the building (North or South) with functional classrooms and offices, and pair their function with the Library. This provides Youth and Social Services to the community, paired with opportunities for local businesses to find a base of operations with shared utility costs.

This accomplishes two important functions: half community functionality, and half supplemental revenue stream to provide further renovations as the building continues to open. These renovations will include securing the building envelope outside of the main remediation efforts, focusing specifically on elements that users will engage with directly. Replacement or repair of windows, doors, and floors.

Phase III The third phase of renovations will focus on the second wing of the school (North or South) that was not addressed in Phase II. The Second wing will host an Art collective to address interests in the community to draw in local talents in a concentrated area. This may feature affordable housing, with accompanying studios both shared and private. This serves both as another method of engagement with the existing community and as a different revenue stream.

This phase will also feature the analysis of the burnt 1000 seat venue, and an assessment of whether or not it can be saved or instead converted into a courtyard-amphitheatre. This venue will become supplemental as another area for performances, presentations, exhibitions, and community meetings. It can become the home for one or many Detroit Theatre Troupes looking for a more permanent situation.

Phase IV With further funding, following the implementation of the first three phases, this phase will feature the highest number of areas being brought back into operation. The various sports facilities including the gymnasium and indoor track above, pool, locker rooms, and accompanying offices will come into operation for a multi-school partnership use of the facilities.

Additionally, offices to support the community gardens and fields will be implemented with a field closet for more convenience. These facilities will have independent hours to run from early in the morning to late at night, potentially partnered further with the YMCA who expressed interest in the building’s facilities.

Phase V+ This phase and beyond will eventually bring the aesthetic qualities of the building up to snuff in a collective manner, raising the standards of the entire facility equitably. Changes in functionality may occur, shifting gears to become a school again over time, adapting more areas for educational needs during the week, or shifting back to these programs that we know work in the event of economic downturns. Areas will be switched off or down from function as the need arises to supply utilities only to the areas that can be afforded to keep the entire building online.

Chart based off of projected use on completion of remediation efforts, with each phase given a timeline of no more than 30 months.

030

WEEKDAY WEEKEND

0600

0800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

2200

2400

SPORT FACILITIES CLASS ROOMS OFFICES LIBRARY THEATRE CAFE

Public Park Program (50,000ft2) Infrastructure General Recreation Center, Garden/Maintenance Shed, Passive rainwater systems Park and Supporting Divisions of Program Sports field(s), children’s play area, dog park, open lawn, restroom pavilion Youth Athletics Services Community Gardens Flexible Field Conditions over time Shared Institutional Facilities Classrooms (45,000ft2) Art Studio Collective or Affordable Housing 40,000ft2 of Classrooms to be adapted Supplementary to other listed program Offices (15,000ft2) CoWorking Spaces Office space, Call room(s), Work Carrel, Conference room, Storage / Printing, Bathroom Variable Maker / Trade Education Utilizes old woodshop / metalshop plan Meeting Meeting Room(s) of 8-10 / 16 people, Kitchen, Bathroom

Library Program (5,000ft2) Youth and Social Recreation Teen Center Game Room Economic Support Economic Empowerment Center Business Solution Center Entrepreneurial Startup Services Job Readiness Classes (On + Off site) Skill Building Classes Languages, adult literacy Citizenship Classes Voter Registration Services Computer / Technological Assistance Center Mobile Literacy Spaces (Amphi)Theatre (18,000ft2) Infrastructure Reception, Directory, Waiting Room, Storage (fixed, flexible), Freight Elevator, Seating Supporting Program Dressing Rooms, Material Storage, Model Shop, Sound Room, Acoustical Support Hosting of Local Institutions

Community Center Program (32,000ft2) Meeting Places Community Room for multiple configurations, Kitchen, Storage, Bathroom Exhibition Rooms Exhibition space(s), Gallery, Reception, Bathroom(s) Mental Health Services Offices for crisis management, support Group therapy, community engagement Government Services Mini Cityhall Services Interface to Government Health Agencies

031

Phase I

+ Phase II

+

032

Phase III

+ Phase IV

+

033

Clients and Users The user-identification of this system is recognizable as categorical selection criteria meant to narrow down a project’s scope to target specific user profiles before the selection of a program, rather than to expand program scope based upon desired users. The difference is subtle, but important.

lems are understood by the communities they affect, and informing future decisions that they make at a greater scale to transform their communities in a meaningful and positive fashion. It utilizes the resources that are already available to them, and preserves select elements in order to gradually repair the whole.

PROGRAMEDIATION is not a catch-all solution to be advertised as a method of reversing decades of poor decisions, or the unfortunate effects of a rampant negative-growth reality. It is instead meant to be a lens through which prob-

This is a project approach first for the people who are there, and later for the people who will come.

034

For the system to work, it requires a direct approach that understands the community in parallel to the issues that they face, so that the program and remediation efforts to follow impact the people who need it most.

In this scenario, we are examining a 80+ year old learning institution of Detroit designed in the Spanish Baroque style with flemish bond orange bricks and terracotta detailing. The footprint spans roughly 14,000m2 with no less than 6 unique programmatic elements capable of self-sustaining community functions.

A suburban core of Detroit with a slowly recovering neighborhood differs from the downtown metropolitan environment of These include sports facilities to supHartford that I used as an example, but port an ornately tiled indoor pool and the lesson moving forward is the same: facilities for fencing, table tennis, indoor without understanding the communi- track and field, as well as ice skating and ty being served by the remediation, it is hockey. pointless.

The library, classrooms, offices, and circulatory corridors are all in remarkable condition, with many fixtures intact. The only significant tragedy in terms of preservation relates to the 2017 fire that gutted the beautiful 1000-seat auditorium.

This community has already expressed a need for public recreational spaces, outreach programs promoting mental health and wellness, and space to support local business which will be accomodated.

Photography courtesy of Cooley High School Yearbooks, Joseph Kayne, Curbed Detroit

035

User Narrative

On a cool Autumn morning in a Detroit suburb, the air is fresh and the energy is somewhat understated. The various families send children off to buses and trains for school, while pedestrians and bikers criss-cross intersections with a resilient confidence. Moving through The neighborhoods of Grandmont, Rosedale, and Littlefield, one is struck by the historic family homes, and the occasional empty lot.

Approaching Cooley High School, the Spanish Baroque brick masterwork from the 1920’s strikes an institutional, and really quite welcoming tone. Some professionals seem to be leaving, having arrived early in the morning to utilize the gymnasium or pool facilities, talking with friends about meeting for lunch downtown.

One crosses the loosely manicured lawn and bubbling fountain to the main entrance, a light and lovely space distinguished by two arches held by a spiraled column. The footsteps of thousands of students can be traced through the same threshold you cross before turning towards the South Wing, the artist’s collective.

CoWorking offices have been mingled with artists in residence, who live in the upper levels and produce works for the city. Sometimes you share lunch with them, and talk about different projects.

You return to your own studio, and work with a view over your neighborhood through beautifully vaulted windows, restored to their original condition a few months before you had moved in. Recently, more families have been popping up in the neighborhood, and talk of the school

being transformed into a weekend arts and business school were discussed. That might be an interesting change of pace.

Around noon, one might choose to take a break and get some exercise just beyond the NorthWing at the indoor track, suspended over the gymnasium where students from other nearby High Schools and Universities often participate in PE programs and pickup games. Afterwards, you take lunch in the food commons overlooking the amphitheatre. The original 1000 seat venue had been heavily damaged by fire in 2017, but recently the area had been carefully restored as an outdoor courtyard, letting light into the center of the former school, and is often used for theatre performances or lecture series and community meetings.

Later tonight, there would be a screening for Detroit’s Autumn film festival, free for kids under 12. For now, the North Wing’s offices were hosting a Communications Lecture Series in collaboration with Marygrove College as their usual lecture hall was undergoing renovations.

One returns to work after exercise and socializing to finish around dinner time, where home is only a short walk from home, around a mile.

After spending some time with family, it’s no issue to return later that night for the film festival with their children, or to attend a Redford High School Basketball game. Cooley doesn’t close until around midnight, but walking home so late still isn’t concerning, as the streets have been linked to the Detroit light network, meaning the return trip home is just as safe as the morning commute under stars and street lights.

Afternoon lunch break, offices and studios come down to the amphitheatre to enjoy frsh air and shade, lectures, community meetings and various events. Elements of the immaculate molding are preserved or used as inspiration for screening elements. Seating solutions would be explored for the lower level as well.

037

Zoning Strategy Zoning says a lot about who we are and who we are becoming. At least at the local level, zoning is democracy, and democracy is zoning.

Conor Dougherty

The Detroit Planning Commission was appointed in 2018 and took on the task of updating the city’s overly complicated and outdated 800-page zoning codes. The ordinance was most recently updated in 2005, but was done without consideration for modern planning practices, and predating the economic crash that bankrupted the city.

“According to LPD, 65 percent of land in Detroit is zoned for low-density single-family housing. A mere 3.5 percent are zoned for multi-family and another 3.5 percent have “special development” designations that allow for some combination of residential and commercial.

Other areas under consideration are “right-sizing” parking to reduce the number of spots in the city, increasing landscaping and buffering on sidewalks, repurposing vacant industrial buildings, and expanding options for “missing middle” housing—making it easier to build townhomes, carriage houses, four-plexes, and other types of housing that increase density and are relatively affordable.”

- Aaron Mondry, Curbed Detroit

R1 SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT This district is designed to protect and preserve quiet, low-density residential areas now primarily developed and those areas which will be developed with single-family detached dwellings and characterized by a high ratio of home ownership.

Additional residential uses such as religious institutions, neighborhood centers, and utility uses necessary to serve the immediate area may be permitted on a conditional basis.

R5 MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT This district is designed to provide for a range of residential development from the single-family detached dwelling to medium-density multiple-family dwellings. The primary use in this district will be the rental apartment structure.

In addition to permitted residential uses, certain specified non-residential uses which can be properly blended into this district may be permitted.

R6 HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT The strategy revolves around the current flexible planning process being employed by Detroit.

Thanks to allowances in the code and the desire to promote plans based on community input, the facilities will be housed in their original zoning designations with special allowances for flexible uses, though the school itself may be redesignated eventually as SD2—SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT, MIXED-USE.

This district will permit a range of living accommodations, from the low density dwelling up to very high-density dwellings, including institutions and residentially related uses, and will permit certain specified service and convenience-type commercial uses of a character unlikely to develop excessive traffic which will serve the residents of the immediate area.

038

R1 R1

R6

R5

DETROIT, Corktown Mixed-Use Building

NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILE

Cooley High School is located in Northwestern Detroit, considered part of Greenfield and Redford Township. The surrounding neighborhood is almost entirely single family homes within a one (1) kilometer radius. These homes were built between the school’s opening in the 1920’s through the early 1930’s. The school is legally owned by Detroit Public Schools who were hesitant to sell in 2017, but have become more desperate as the school has suffered further from scrappers. Original plans had hoped to restore the school to function, but trends of population decline have prevented the neighborhood from seeing adequate growth. These neighborhoods remain predominantly Black, at 94.4% by population, or 10,500 out of the 11,117 residents.

LOGISTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The site is around 500,000ft2. It is mostly mown grass field, with 3-4 story trees on the East periphery. The topography report shows fairly flat conditions, unsurprising within the 8mile boundary, though the site does trend down towards its South-West corner by between ten (10) and fifteen (15) feet. Traffic patterns in the area throughout the week present as a fairly smooth flow of vehicles, with lower pedestrian and bike traffic due to incompatible roadways. Sidewalks are setback roughly six (6) feet from roads with spacious sidewalks and mown grass buffers to the street. There are currently no planned road developments publicly available for reference, and since this area is not within the SNF scope of public funding at this time, there will be no foreseeable future plans either outside of my project. The school houses intact plumbing systems connected to city water and sewage, public electric, and used oil boilers per at least the 1960’s. Damage via scrapper may be liminal, but is unclear at this time.

ENVIRONMENTAL DATA

Site + Environmental Report

Being located in Michigan, Detroit is considered a Humid Continental Climate which is characterized by having distinct Summers and Winters with a fairly even distribution of precipitation throughout the year. The mean temperature for Detroit varies from 24.5 degrees in January to 73.5 degrees in July. Prevailing wind directions are typically West to East, aligned with the trade winds for the latitude and longitude.

Per the First Street Foundation (Blue) and FEMA (Red) maps, Detroit is under significantly increased flooding risk in the next 10 years. Their data places a lot of The Motor City’s neighborhoods at risk, but Cooley High School faces minimal risk on one end of the site per these estimates. The risk rides the line of the tennis courts and vegetative overgrowth shared with Lakeridge Ministries and the McKibbon Masonic Temple.

040

041

Precedent Analysis | Garage Museum of Contemporary Art

Architects: Location: Timeline: Footprint:

OMA, Ekaterina Golovatyuk Moscow, Russia 2011 - 2015 5400m2

Purpose:

Relocation of a museum program to an abandonded 1960’s Concrete Pavillion in Gorky Park.

Program:

Museum / Gallery Services Restaurant / Bar Education Spaces Retail

Challenge:

1960s Vremena Goda (Seasons of the Year) restaurant, a prefabricated concrete pavilion which has been derelict for more than two decades. It has been fully exposed to the elements since the 1990’s, and was a facade-less ruin of a famed restaurant in the middle of one of Moscow’s most important public spaces, Gorky Park, surrounded by a suburban neighborhood.

Solution:

The design sought to preserve original Soviet-era elements, including a mosaic wall, tiles, and brick, while incorporating a range of innovative architectural and curatorial devices.

The pavilion was pre-cast concrete, and the structure was still fully oparational. Stairways for vertical movement were replaced, and the facade was implemented as a two-layered translucent polycarbonate system that housed the majority of the mechanical systems, allowing for unobstructed gallery spaces.

A throughway was established on the lower level to create a loop between the public program, envisioned as an informal living room with Soviet era furniture.

As a final touch, the facade is elevated by 2.25 metres above the ground to visually reconnect the pavilion to the park.

SITE PLAN, Variable Scale, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art

043

1960 The Vremena Goda Pavilion was a perfect picture of the ideal Soviet suburban life: ample access to collective public spaces, located in Gorky Park where families frequented, and with plenty of entertainment for all age groups.

2011 When OMA was approached to resolve the movement of the existing Garage Museum from accross the city to the Vremena Goda Pavilion, they found a stunning structure with surprisingly well preserved Soviet era art. Mosaics, tiling, and original brick work had all survived the test of time, and became a priority for preservation.

2011 Much of the original surfaces, though well preserved, were covered in various graffiti or trash. This art that had been added, while disruptive, became the basis for the displaying of art. These contrasting textures of modern art and historic texture would be paired by OMA as inspiration for the design of the art galleries.

044

2015 The garage pavilion was given a new facade, as the original had disappeared in time. The two-layered polycarbonate facade wraps the perimeter of the structure, holding a variety of HVAC systems for the galleries to allow for uninterrupted spaces, while a level of permeability is maintained by the translucent pasasge of light.

2015 Original routes of circulation are preserved, and some of the original restaurant functions were restored. The lower level remains felxible, serving as a banquet hall, gallery preamble, or gathering space overseen by the soviet era mosaic.

2015 Graffiti has been removed, but the wear of time has been accentuated. The great heights of the first floor are used to the advantage of the design, allowing for a mezzanine floor accomodating retail areas.

045

Existing Conditions + Interventions (Top), Treatment of Architecture versus Impromptu Art (Bottom)

046

05 Layered Polycarbonate Facade

04 Roof Terrace + HVAC System

03 Galleries, Offices, Mechanical

02 Galleries, Education Spaces

01 Restaurant, Bar, Admin

Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Exploded Axonometric

047

Precedent Analysis | Museo di Castelvecchio in Verona

Architects: Location: Timeline: Footprint:

Carlo Scarpa Verona, Italy 1958-1973 22,300m2 (11,150m2 addition)

Purpose:

Display of the coming museum exhibits, reorganization of the museum circulation, and revealing the castle’s historic layers.

Program:

Museum / Gallery Napoleonic Wing Administration Library

Challenge:

The Museo Castelvecchio in Verona is a mid-14th century castle that is historically understood in three unique stages: first, as a commune and a defensive castle by the Scaliger Dynasty, then for military purposes by the Napoleon and Facists through the 18th and 19th centuries, and eventually as a museum during the 20th until present.

Unique additions and subtractions to the design have been endured through all of these time periods, and unifying them presented a unique task.

Solution:

Scarpa’s interventions are best understood in four (4) stages. His initial analysis identified the full history of the project, as well as impactful elements of each to either remove, preserve, or create that would best tell the site’s story.

01

Notable changes are the removal of the Napoleonic stairs, excavation of the ancient moat, restructed circulation of the museum.

02

Panels of glass are placed in the Gothic openings, and the entrance is repositioned from center.

03

Elements of past interventions were carefully excavated to the surface to show historic depth.

04

The central courtyard is reorganized to reflect interior circulation changes, and displays are connected through multiple viewing perspectives.

VERONA, Castelvecchio + Historic Path

SCARPA, Facade Study, Original Conditions (Left) + Design (Right), Reflected changes (Above)

051

Castelvecchio Barracks Gallery (Top) + Painting Gallery (Bottom)

052

1 2 3 4 5

Cangrande Statue Keep Tower Barracks (Gallery) Main Entrance Painting Room

Diagram Base courtesy of Tasos Theodorakakis

Annotated References

Coleman, Nathaniel. “Chapter 5: Postwar Possibilities.” Essay. In Utopias and Architecture, 88–112. Florence, KY: Taylor & Francis Group, 2005.

Nathaniel Coleman examines the opportunities that became possible for the development of architecture following World War II, where the evolution of design went through a significant period of rigorous exploration. It served as a referential guide to architectural thought from the mid 18th century through the late 20th century, and allowed me some insight into architectural revivalist movements.

Co, Francesco Dal, Guiseppe Mazzariol, and Carlo Scarpa. Carlo Scarpa: the Complete Works. Milano, Lombardi: Electa, 1987. [Accessed 07 July, 2020].

Francesco Dal Co and Guiseppe Mazzariol lovingly compiled and analyzed Scarpa’s entire body of work, presenting me with the wonderful opportunity to gain tremendous perspective from his appraoch to design, especially in the context of renovation and remediation type projects. Their summary of his process on the Museo dal Castelvecchio in Verona was particularly useful, as it gave me the ability to see a project in a beloved historic building that was not afraid to form its own identity, without sacrificing the history and memory of the site, encouraging bold exploration.

Cullen, Gordon. Concise Townscape. Place of publication not identified: Routledge, 2015.

Gordon Cullen’s Townscape is a timeless collection of essays, diagrams, and research that both analyze and romanticize the aesthetic development of the town. His love of the formal and informal relationships of spaces and buildings, streets and pathways allows for a more clear perspective on the importance of sight and movement. I found it to be exceptionally important to me, as my project and site are quite large in scale, and offer a wide variety of perspectives on approach. The optics, especially in remediation projects, are vital to winning over communities.

Downing, Frances. 2000. Remembrance and the Design of Place. Sara and John Lindsey Series in the Arts and Humanities, No. 6. College Station, Tex: Texas A & M University Press.

Frances Downing discusses the various philosophies of the ideas of place, and encourages an open approach to engaging with evolving memory. Preserving the history of a site can become the key to modernizing its future without a loss of identity, as well as fulfilling our architectural commitment to responsible design.

Gallagher, John. Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American City. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2010.

John Gallagher’s book on Detroit’s situation provided an interesting perspective on the city briefly before her true fall from grace. Even before Chapter 9 Bankruptcy, there was a general understanding that Detroit was in Rapid decline, and needed help to return to her former heights of glory. The perspectives displayed were truly forward thinking, identifying opportunities for urban farming, pedestrian friendly improvements to wide boulevards now accomodating significantly fewer vehicles, and opportunities for natural green spaces that citizens would not expect to be kept up in the same way a public park might. Most importantly, even before the significant research done by Maurice Cox’s planning department, Gallagher identifies that the sprawl of Detroit paired with tremendous land banking opens up opportunities to redevelop communities gradually, using the remaining citizens as a catalyst.

McHarg, I. L. Design with Nature. New York, NY: John Wiley, 1995. [ Accessed 14 February 2020].

Ian McHarg’s process of site selection and identificaiton of naturalistic paths has gradually formed the basis for my own process of understanding urban settings. Natural ecologies, similar to their urban counterparts, exist in forms of layered matrices and high-traffic corridors. The relationships between these various corridors and the spaces unused, where Ian Mcharg looked for ideal project paths, exist in cities as well. It allows for designers to understand the areas in need of assistance, and where connections used to exist.

Supplementary References

Augustine, Erin. “Interview with Keynote Speaker Maurice Cox - Texas ...” texasarchitects.org, October 18, 2018. https://207.91.150.201/2018/10/18/interview-with-keynote-speaker-maurice-cox/.

Botton, Alain De. The Architecture of Happiness. London, UK: Penguin Books, 2014.

Cameron, J. N. Seven Neighborhoods in Detroit: Recipes from the City. Costa Mesa, CA: Aubergine Books, 2015.

Cupers, Kenny, Helena Mattsson, and Catharina Gabrielsson. Neoliberalism on the Ground: Architecture and Transformation from the 1960s to the Present. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2020.

Ferry, W. Hawkins. The Buildings of Detroit: a History. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2012.

Gerson, Pablo. “Planning, Delivering & Implementing, with Maurice Cox.” NESS, August 23, 2019. https:// nessmagazine.com/planning-delivering-implementing/.

Harper, Phineas. “‘Our Dependency on Growth, like on Concrete, Must Be Abolished.’” Dezeen, September 25, 2019. https://www.dezeen.com/2019/09/25/oslo-architecture-triennale-architecture-degrowth-phineas-harper/ Jacobs, Karrie. “Maurice Cox’s Detroit.” architectmagazine.com, October 25, 2016. https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/maurice-coxs-detroit_o.

Jeanneret, Charles-Édouard. Letter to Martienssen. “Letter Addressed to a Group of Modern Architects in Johannesburg on the Occasion of a Manifesto Published by Them.” Paris: France, September 23, 1936.

Kahn, Louis I., and Robert C. Twombly. Louis Kahn: Essential Texts. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2003.

Lyons, Siobhan. RUIN PORN AND THE OBSESSION WITH DECAY. London, UK: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN, 2019.

Maraniss, David. Once in a Great City: a Detroit Story. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2016.

Richardson, E. P., and Hawkins Ferry. “Representative Detroit Buildings: A Cross Section Of Architecture, 1823-1943.” Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts of the City of Detroit 22, no. 6 (1943): 46–64. https:// doi.org/10.1086/bulldetinst41500531.

Seitz, Matt Zoller. The Grand Budapest Hotel: the Wes Anderson Collection. New York, NY: Abrams, 2016.

Vachon, Paul. Detroit: an Illustrated Timeline. St. Louis, MO: Reedy Press, 2019.

Vergara Camilo José. The New American Ghetto. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1999.

Photographic Sources, By Page Number ANY UNCITED IMAGES ARE MY OWN. 002

Camilo Jose Vergara, DETROIT SKYLINE. Date Unknown. Photo. Detroit, MI. https://www.metrotimes.com/ detroit/the-city-as-seen-through-the-lens-of-documentarian-camilo-jose-vergara/Content?oid=2481962

004

Camilo Jose Vergara, DETROIT SKYLINE. 2003. Photo. Detroit, MI. http://viewfrommadrid.blogspot. com/1996/03/the-death-of-detroit.html

005

Federico Puggioni, Castelvecchio Museum. 2016. Photo. Verona, Italy. https://divisare.com/ projects/332703-carlo-scarpa-federico-puggioni-museo-di-castelvecchio Federico Puggioni, Cangrade Statue. 2016. Photo. Verona, Italy. https://divisare.com/ projects/332703-carlo-scarpa-federico-puggioni-museo-di-castelvecchio

007 Sean Hemmerle, Untitled. 2012. Photo. Detroit, MI. https://www.messynessychic.com/2012/12/29/ the-car-park-theatre-of-detroit/ 010

Artist Unknown. Belle Isle Conservatory. 1904. Film Photo. Detroit, MI. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ ARvNuLyCJCdx1WnewFlJ-VkgHBH5qNfBG2V3HKvQvlkX_uzH-rIH4SE/ Chris and Michelle Gerard, Belle Isle Conservatory. 2014. Photo. Detroit, MI. https://detroit.curbed. com/2014/1/27/10150662/after-110-years-the-belle-isle-conservatory-still-fascinates

012

Camilo Jose Vergara, EDMUND PLACE. 1987, 2000, 2005, 2015. Photo Series. Detroit, MI. https://www. metrotimes.com/detroit/the-city-as-seen-through-the-lens-of-documentarian-camilo-jose-vergara/ Content?oid=2481962

013

U.S. EPA, MAP OF SUPERFUND, RCRA, AND BROWNFIELD SITES IN THE U.S. 2013. Graphic Map. https://www. dailykos.com/stories/2018/12/16/1819464/-Pollution-Closes-in-on-the-Last-Clean-Landscape

016

MessyNessy, WAITING ROOM, MICHIGAN CENTRAL RAILROAD DEPOT, 1973-2010. 2012. Photos. https:// www.messynessychic.com/2012/08/12/ruins-of-detroit-before-after/

018 Yuri PALMIN, OMA Garage Museum Of Contemporary Art, Ground Floor. 2015. Moscow, Russia. Photo. https:// www.archdaily.com/642936/garage-museum-of-contemporary-art-oma Image OMA, OMA Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. 2015. Moscow, Russia. Photo. https://www.archdaily. com/642936/garage-museum-of-contemporary-art-oma 019 Tim Wallace et al. Variable Scales of A Map of Every Building In America. 2018. New York Times. https://www. nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/12/us/map-of-every-building-in-the-united-states.html 022 Tim Wallace et al. Variable Scales of A Map of Every Building In America. 2018. New York Times. https://www. nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/12/us/map-of-every-building-in-the-united-states.html 023 Tim Wallace et al. Variable Scales of A Map of Every Building In America. 2018. New York Times. https://www. nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/12/us/map-of-every-building-in-the-united-states.html

Photographic Sources, By Page Number

024 1959 Yearbook Staff of Cooley High School, COOLEY HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK INSIDE COVER 1959. 1959.

Ink on Paper. https://www.amazon.com/Reprint-1959-Yearbook-Detroit-Michigan/dp/B004HZYPYQ 026

Google Earth. Cooley High School Axonometric. 2020. Screen Capture. https://www.google.com/ maps/@42.3979899,-83.1841802,374a,35y,301.14h,58.35t/data=!3m1!1e3 Chuckjav/Wikimedia Commons, Cooley High School Facade. 2018. Photo. Detroit, MI. https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Cooley_High_School Freaktography, Cooley High School Offices. 2019. Photo. Detroit, MI. https://freaktography.com/ abandoned-detroit-cooley-high-school-with-the-proper-people/#jp-carousel-15882 Nailhed, Cooley High School Classroom. 2017. Photo. Detroit, MI. https://www.nailhed.com/2017/03/ cooley-350-350.html Nailhed, Cooley High School Gymnasium. 2017. Photo. Detroit, MI. https://www.nailhed.com/2017/03/ cooley-350-350.html

027 Google Earth. Cooley High School Axonometric. 2020. https://www.google.com/ maps/@42.3979899,-83.1841802,374a,35y,301.14h,58.35t/data=!3m1!1e3 028

DetroitUrbex, Cooley High School Pool. Date Unknown (Est. 2016). Photo. Detroit, MI. http://detroiturbex. com/content/schools/cooley/index.html Freaktography, Abandoned detroit cooley high school auditorium right. Date Unknown (Est. 2016). Photo.

Detroit, MI. https://freaktography.com/abandoned-detroit-cooley-high-school-with-the-proper-people/#jpcarousel-15882

033

DetroitUrbex, The school under construction in 1928. 1928. Photo. Detroit, MI. http://detroiturbex.com/ content/schools/cooley/index.html 1952 Cooley High School Yearbook, Castellan 1952 Cooley High School. 1952. Print + Photos. Detroit, MI. https://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Cooley-High-School/4182802357?page=0 Picasa, Thomas M. Cooley High School: Hubbell Road Facade. 2013. Photo. Detroit, MI. https://www.flickr. com/photos/71288712@N00/8730045594 DetroitUrbex, Students in the auditorium. Date Unknown. Photo. Detroit, MI. http://detroiturbex.com/content/schools/cooley/index.html Freaktography, Abandoned detroit cooley high school auditorium balcony. 2019. Photo. Detroit, MI. https:// freaktography.com/abandoned-detroit-cooley-high-school-with-the-proper-people/#jp-carousel-15882

034

DetroitUrbex, Untitled. Photo. Detroit, MI. http://detroiturbex.com/content/schools/cooley/index.html

Photographic Sources, By Page Number ANY UNCITED IMAGES ARE MY OWN. 034

Amber Elliott, IDEAS City Fellows at Cooley High School. 2016. Photo. Detroit, MI. https://detroit.curbed. com/2017/5/4/15542172/cooley-reuse-project-high-school Classmates.com, 1978 Cooley High School Yearbook. 1978. Print + Photo. Detroit, MI. https://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Cooley-High-School/16840?page=93

036

Freaktography, Abandoned detroit cooley high school auditorium right. 2019. Photo. Detroit, MI. https:// freaktography.com/abandoned-detroit-cooley-high-school-with-the-proper-people/#jp-carousel-15882

038

Detroit Planning Commission, Detroit Zoning Map 66. 2020. Map Graphic. https://detroitmi.gov/sites/ detroitmi.localhost/files/2018-05/zmap66.pdf Michelle & Chris Gerard, Bird scooters sit near Bagley & Trumbull. 2018. Photo. Detroit, MI. https://detroit. curbed.com/2018/10/24/18018180/detroit-allows-more-scooters-city-requires-more-neighborhoods

039

Matt Daniels et al., First Street and FEMA Map Comparison. 2020. Graphic Map. https://www.freep.com/in-depth/ news/local/michigan/2020/06/29/flood-risk-michigan-homes-map-first-street-foundation/3258043001/

041 Image OMA, Entrance to the Pavilion. 2012. Model Photo. Moscow, Russia. https://www.archdaily.com/230892/ oma-to-design-new-home-for-garage-in-moscow 042

Image OMA, Map of Garage Museum Site Movement. 2015. Graphic Map. https://www.archdaily.com/642936/ garage-museum-of-contemporary-art-oma Image OMA, Map of Garage Museum New Site. 2015. Graphic Map. https://www.archdaily.com/642936/ garage-museum-of-contemporary-art-oma Image OMA, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Site Plan. 2015. Graphic Map. https://www.archdaily. com/642936/garage-museum-of-contemporary-art-oma

043

PastVu, View of Vremana Goda Pavilion from Gorky Park. 1960. Film Photo. Moscow, Russia. https://www. inexhibit.com/mymuseum/garage-museum-of-contemporary-art-moscow-rem-koolhaas-oma/ Image OMA, Vremena Goda Pavilion. 2011. Photo. Moscow, Russia. https://www.archdaily.com/230892/ oma-to-design-new-home-for-garage-in-moscow Image OMA, Vremena Goda Pavilion. 2011. Photo. Moscow, Russia. https://www.archdaily.com/230892/ oma-to-design-new-home-for-garage-in-moscow

044 Yuri PALMIN, Untitled. 2015. Photo. Moscow, Russia. https://www.archdaily.com/642936/ garage-museum-of-contemporary-art-oma Iwan Baan, Untitled. 2020. Photo. Moscow, Russia. https://iwan.com/portfolio/garage-moscow-oma/

Photographic Sources, By Page Number

044

Iwan Baan, Side Stair with Renovated Tile. 2020. Photo. Moscow, Russia. https://iwan.com/portfolio/ garage-moscow-oma/

045 Yuri PALMIN, Untitled. 2015. Photo. Moscow, Russia. https://www.archdaily.com/642936/ garage-museum-of-contemporary-art-oma Image OMA, Interior Textures. 2015. Model Photo Edit. Moscow, Russia. https://afasiaarchzine. com/2015/08/15-oma/oma-garage-museum-of-contemporary-art-moscow-23-23/ 046 Afasia, Diagram. 2015. Digital Drawing. https://afasiaarchzine.com/2015/08/15-oma/ 047 Tasos Theodorakakis, City of Verona. 2017. Graphic Map. Verona, Italy. https://issuu.com/tasostheodorakakis/ docs/scarpa_comp Tasos Theodorakakis, City of Verona / Wall Traces. 2017. Graphic Map. Verona, Italy. https://issuu.com/ tasostheodorakakis/docs/scarpa_comp 048

Peter Guthrie, Untitled. 2019. Photo. Verona, Italy. https://www.buildingonthebuilt.org/ archive-richard-murphy-and-castelvecchio

049

Federico Puggioni, Museo di Castelvecchio. 2016. Photo. Verona, Italy. https://divisare.com/ projects/332703-carlo-scarpa-federico-puggioni-museo-di-castelvecchio Tasos Theodorakakis, Elevation of the Caserma / first study. 2017. Pencil on Paper. Verona, Italy. https:// issuu.com/tasostheodorakakis/docs/scarpa_comp

050

Elevation of the Caserma / final study, Tasos Theodorakakis. 2017. Pencil on Paper. Verona, Italy. https:// issuu.com/tasostheodorakakis/docs/scarpa_comp

051 Peter Guthrie, Untitled. 2019. Photo. Verona, Italy. https://www.buildingonthebuilt.org/ archive-richard-murphy-and-castelvecchio 052

Peter Guthrie, Untitled. 2019. Photo. Verona, Italy. https://www.buildingonthebuilt.org/ archive-richard-murphy-and-castelvecchio Tasos Theodorakakis, Locations of Layering applied to Castelvecchio. 2017. Digital Drawing. Verona, Italy. https://issuu.com/tasostheodorakakis/docs/scarpa_comp