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The spark came from the DIA Plaza | Midtown Cultural Connections international design competition. The call was for bold proposals to craft vibrant public spaces that could unify existing institutions and communities, setting the stage for district-wide regeneration. The aim was clear: to forge a public space that would embody democracy, harmony, and connectivity for institutions, residents, and visitors alike. In August 2018, Agence Ter and Akoaki emerged as the team behind the Detroit Square winning entry, launching a five year public planning effort renamed the Cultural Center Planning Initiative (CCPI).
Cast your vote giving a wish to this project.
The 83-acre project is situated in Midtown Detroit, home to diverse and venerable arts, cultural, and educational institutions, ranging from the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Charles H. Wright Museum to the Detroit Public Library and smaller entities. The site, flanked by Wayne State University, the College for Creative Studies, as well as residential neighborhoods, is bisected by Woodward Ave, the nation’s first paved road. The project's essence lies in urban suture and repair, aiming to stitch together the interstitial spaces between disparate entities, private parking lots, illegible thresholds, and currently disjointed landscapes. Pivoting from the Motor City’s car-centric logic, the plan prioritizes humans and non-human city occupants, crafting environments where all can thrive.
CCPI signifies a paradigm shift in urban transformation, prioritizing sustainable systems to address climate change. Traditionally, urban design marginalized green and mobility initiatives, but CCPI foregrounds and visibilizes climate adaptation. Introducing an ecotone element through the district, the plan enhances the tree canopy by 60% and reclaims 16 acres for public use. It integrates a watershed methodology to improve stormwater infrastructure, preventing 60 million gallons of sewage from contaminating drinking water. CCPI reimagines urban streetscapes, prioritizing pedestrians and transforming 40% of car-centric areas into porous public spaces by relocating parking underground. The project has received an honorable mention in the Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Merit Awards.
Beyond the pragmatic aim of unifying a public space among diverse partners, CCPI is a deliberate act of social and environmental reparation. It seeks to reshape Detroit's post-modern, racialized, and economically battered urban fabric, creating a communal space that both reflects and redefines the city’s identity. The project builds on methodologies that prioritize sustainable urbanism, ecological resilience, and nature-based solutions, elevating the socio-cultural and ecological dimensions of urban spaces.
In many ways, it defining quality lies in its process-oriented design methods, which incorporate adaptable elements: a pedestrian "Square" defining the perimeter of the project, a green "Band" with multiple plazas creating a central axis, an "Ecotone" for nature-based environmental management, and a "Necklace" creating network of small pedestrian paths facilitating interaction with plantings and art installations. These elements, calibrated through robust engagement with each institution, are designed to meet individual institutional needs by making the shared infrastructure more appealing through customization. In this way, CCPI enables collective transformation thoughtful urban design.
The resulting plan incorporates visionary content, forward thinking climate and stormwater elements, a new mobility, parking and traffic model for the campus and broad community engagement. It reflects a collective desire to engage more thoughtfully and intentionally with the public and each other to create a compelling and connected center of learning, art, science, literature and history. - Sue Mosey
Agence Ter, originating in Paris with extensions in France, Germany, and Spain, is acclaimed for its dedication to sustainable urbanism and ecological resilience. Their work, spanning urban parks to expansive infrastructure, integrates aesthetic appeal with practical functionality, always tailored to the unique context of each site.
Akoaki, an architectural studio based in Detroit, reimagines urban spaces through dynamic public interventions, immersive installations, and community-focused projects. Their practice erases the conventional boundaries between architecture, art, and urbanism, emphasizing process-oriented design and cultural exploration.
United, Agence Ter and Akoaki are developing a comprehensive plan for Detroit's Cultural District, grounded in rigorous research and genuine collaboration that combines their distinct expertise to reshape the city's landscape with a focus on creativity and sustainability.
