John R 2660: A Detroit Block Rises from Corner to Corner

When the Detroit-based developer Bedrock approached Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects to design four main buildings in each corner of City Modern, this is an 8.4-acre car city that has a long history but was once destroyed in the Brush Park community. Rebuilding the project, the company Design saw an opportunity to help drive change. "Architecture," said Lorcan O'Herlihy, FAIA's founder and design director, "is a social behavior, which means you bring social agency into all your work." He continued that this concept will bring LOHA to create The works are unified. The practice in Los Angeles and Detroit studied the city’s material palette to ensure that each “building responds to the environment and culture of its design location,” O'Herlihy said. The four buildings will use different materials: wood, brick, metal and fiber cement. Siding, especially Cedar, John R 2660, the first of the four Lohas buildings is about to be completed. Western red cedar planks hail from Canada and the Pacific Northwest, with a 1x4 tongue and groove and are oriented vertically. On the top wall, 1.5-inch stainless steel screws are used to fasten the plate to a 1.5-inch horizontal fence with tabs, which is also fitted with 1.5-inch polyisocyanurate foam. The bottom layer of the deck is insulated with 2.5-inch mineral wool and 2.5-inch straps. In all, 98,000 feet of cedar planks were used on the exterior walls of the six-story building; the finishes extend into the building's street lobby, which has another 7,600 feet of vertical cedar planks. A translucent, oil-based and solvent-based sealer for wood finishing. Cedar can be used for more than 30 years, O'Herlihy said: “You just need to maintain it like a car. We worked with customers to develop a maintenance plan to ensure [Cedar] stays in good condition for the next few years.” LOHA’s recommendations include Check whether the siding base is damp every winter; clean the siding with a stiff brush and reapply as needed, or at least once every two years. From the beginning, the City Modern project aimed to bring modern design into the community, according to Melissa Dittmer, American Institute of Architects, Bedrock Urban Strategy and Office Design Director and Senior Vice President. Innovation In her own response to the city’s original RFP, Bedrock admitted “to celebrate Detroit’s design heritage and celebrate the historical aspects of the community, while also taking advantage of modern and contemporary design”. "What do you get from our project? It has been in the planning, design and construction process for nearly six years. It is a unique combination of architectural styles that responds to the historical background of the remaining historic buildings nearby, but in a forward-looking modern This is reflected in the architecture," Dittmer said. "[C] idas gradually grew," O'Herlihy said. “And it must be able to maintain, repair and renovate buildings, and at the same time add new buildings.” In order to construct the entire development project with low-rise townhouses and duplex houses, Bedrock has developed standards-based standards that respect the frustrations and frustrations of nearby houses. Overcrowded. "[We integrated] existing data on historical houses, roof lines, and porch lines into the building," Dittmer said. For example, although John R 2660 reaches six floors at the highest point, it also respects the horizontal benchmark set by the recently restored 19th century brick Victorian mansion across the street, at which elevation drops to three floors. Tom Goulding, Bedrock's senior communications director, pointed out that Detroit established a guide for the historic district, which Bedrock followed when creating its basic guide. "However," he added, "preserving the heritage of the building is very important for bedrock, so we went beyond these simple guidelines with a more comprehensive set of rules." Locally, LOHA took the opportunity to activate the roof, creating a terrace that overlooks the restored Victorian brick mansion and will visually communicate with the roof courtyards of other nearby buildings in the development, Dittmer said. These buildings include townhouses designed by Studio Dwell; duplex houses designed by Merge Architects; Hamilton Anderson Associates apartment buildings; and Christian Hurttienne Architects restored historic houses. The design company jointly lobbied to create a public stable that runs through the modern development of the city. The pedestrian space on the ground will visually enhance the roof terrace. “We built this public space system on the ground floor,” Dittmer said, “and then we started to create similar spatial connections on the roof level.” The landscape of the top-floor townhouse can include the rooftop terrace of the Lohas apartment building and the HAA apartment overlooking Corridor with a view of the roof terrace on the floor. "It has a series of overlapping public spaces to quasi-public spaces on the ground floor," Dietmer explained. "It provides a good overall system of community connection, as well as a visual connection with the community and the city center." Finally, Bedrock hopes that its public spaces and pocket parks will be integrated into the greenway, with more Brush Parks For the reconstruction of and surrounding areas, these greenways will be built into neighboring development projects, Dittmer said: “We don’t want to build a private public space . In the process of formulating the city’s modern development plan, Bedrock held more than 60 community meetings. , And held about 25 meetings with municipal agencies, Dittmer said. In these meetings, the company will explain modern architecture and respond to the comments of attendees. With more than 100 properties and 18,000 local employees in downtown Detroit, "We are here as long-term members of the community," Dittmer said. "We don't develop anything, and then we move away. We developed something, and then we continued to be stakeholders in the community. "