For this year’s US Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale, curators Cynthia Davidson and Monica Ponce de Leon have chosen twelve teams to speculate on possible architecture projects for four sites in Detroit, in an exhibition titled: The Architectural Imagination. After visiting Detroit last fall for site visits, community meeting, and discussions with faculty and students at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, the teams have now released images for their projects. The curators hope to generate creative and resourceful work to address the social and environmental issues of the 21st century.
A(n) Office / Detroit, Michigan: Marcelo López-Dinardi; V. Mitch McEwen
A(n) Office, Promised Land Air, 2016. Rendered aerial perspective of industrial studios with pneumatic freight, housing, air-purification network, and a Canadian consulate. Speculative project for Mexicantown/Southwest Detroit.
BairBalliet / Columbus, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois: Kelly Bair; Kristy Balliet
BairBalliet, The Next Port of Call, 2016. Oblique drawing of dock, port of entry, customs checkpoint, and waterfront entertainment venues. Speculative project for Detroit’s riverfront United States Post Office.
Greg Lynn FORM / Los Angeles, California: Greg Lynn
Greg Lynn FORM, Center for Fulfillment, Knowledge, and Innovation, 2016. Model detail showing cogeneration plant, corporate research centers, and movable university collaboration spaces. Speculative project for Detroit’s Packard Plant.
Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects / Atlanta, Georgia: Mack Scogin; Merrill Elam
Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects, Mexicantown: A Liminal Blur, 2016. Model of interpretive layers of the Mexicantown neighborhood. Speculative project for Mexicantown/Southwest Detroit.
Marshall Brown Projects / Chicago, Illinois: Marshall Brown
Marshall Brown Projects, Dequindre Civic Academy, 2016. Towards a Coordinate Unit, handmade collage on inkjet print, 40x50 inches. Speculative project spanning Detroit’s Dequindre Cut greenway.
MOS Architects / New York, New York: Hilary Sample; Michael Meredith
MOS, A Situation Made from Loose and Overlapping Social and Architectural Aggregates, 2016. Sectional drawing through a new framework for the everyday life of the city. Speculative project spanning Detroit’s Dequindre Cut greenway.
Pita & Bloom / Los Angeles, California: Florencia Pita; Jackilin Hah Bloom
Pita & Bloom, The New Zocalo, 2016. Axonometric drawing showing band shell, theater, and cultural center, part of a new neighborhood hub. Speculative project for Mexicantown/Southwest Detroit.
Present Future / Houston, Texas: Albert Pope; Jesús Vassallo
Present Future, New Corktown, 2016. Model of superblock using cross-laminated timber construction. Speculative project for Detroit’s riverfront United States Post Office.
Preston Scott Cohen Inc. / Boston, Massachusetts: Preston Scott Cohen
Preston Scott Cohen Inc., Revolving Detroit, 2016. Model detail of post office, undulating roof, and entwined ramp and staircase. Speculative project for Detroit’s riverfront United States Post Office.
SAA/Stan Allen Architect / New York, New York: Stan Allen
Stan Allen Architect, Detroit Rock City, 2016. Model detail showing observation tower and conservatory, part of a larger vertical botanical garden. Speculative project for Detroit’s Packard Plant.
T+E+A+M / Ann Arbor, Michigan: Thom Moran; Ellie Abrons; Adam Fure; Meredith Miller
T+E+A+M, Detroit Reassembly Plant, 2016. Perspective rendering showing megamasonry mountain, formed by a new aggregate made of recycled building materials and supported by the Packard Plant’s existing columns. Speculative project for Detroit’s Packard Plant.
Zago Architecture / Los Angeles, California: Andrew Zago; Laura Bouwman
Zago Architecture, A New Federal Project, 2016. Model detail showing federal building, which deploys novel architectural forms as a means of direct political engagement. Speculative project along Detroit’s Dequindre Cut.
Learn more about The Architectural Imagination, here.
