Walk the walk

It is somewhat ironic to be working on a transit oriented design development for the proposed Ann Arbor to northerly towns commuter rail line, while at the same planning the logistics for my own commute on the "SMART" bus routes into downtown Detroit.

As an architect and partner in an architecture firm located in Brighton, MI -- 20 minutes north of Ann Arbor -- I have been able to be a part of a pretty large amount of growth for the past decade and a half. And as this town continues to grow and increase its commitment to being a walkable community I continue to learn something new from each project. But I also can't help but cast an eye to the east, to downtown Detroit, the heart of Southeast Michigan.

Once a city of two million inhabitants, it recently fell into 11th place on the list of U.S. cities at eight hundred plus thousand people. With a rich architectural past there are many quality structures in the city -- from Mies Van de Rohe's Lafayette Towers to the Smith Group's Guardian Building. From such rich building stock I see tremendous opportunity for adaptive re-use and redevelopment projects. Several loft type residential projects have already been completed around the city for example.

So armed with my daylight calculation spreadsheets, powerpoint case study of adapting a former General Motors office building into a K - 8 parochial school, and my bus schedule I head back to the city. The city where I once lived and walked each day along streets lines with elm trees in order to get to elementary school. And my father took the bus to his job downtown. Circle of life...