The charrette has concentrated on the district surrounding the new Comerica Park, Ford Field, the Detroit Opera House, Music Hall and the Gem, Century, State and Fox theaters. The sports and entertainment district will be the focus of national attention when Super Bowl XL is played at Ford Field in 2006.
This will be the university's fourth charrette in Detroit, but is the first of a series of three proposed to focus on Downtown. It culminates in a public presentation of the results today from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Gem Theater, 333 Madison Ave.
The public and local stakeholders and civic leaders are invited, including the mayor and city council. Faculty members will lead follow-up design studios during the balance of the winter term. A booklet will be produced that documents the results of both the charrette and follow-up studios.
Dana Fair, a spokesman for the university, said charrette is meant to advance creative but practical solutions to social, civic, and environmental challenges.
"Students worked in teams to come up with design concepts for that area," hetells GlobeSt.com. "These concepts are later pitched to the city for incorporation into various economic development projects."
The university's first charrette focused on the Lower Cass area of Detroit. The greater Corktown and Briggs neighborhoods were selected as the focus of the 2000 charrette to identify new growth opportunities surrounding Tiger Stadium. Last year's workshop focused on the Grand River Corridor.
Several distinguished design professionals accepted the invitation to participate, including nationally acclaimed design professionals from outside Michigan.
Each guest led one of four teams with a faculty member from Taubman College and a design professional selected from a local design firm or institution.
Each team has a dozen graduate students, primarily from Taubman College, but also from the school of art and design and the landscape architecture program of the school of natural resources and environment. Students from Cass Technical High School also participated.
Fair says the college has been invited to hold charrettes in other Michigan cities, but holds Detroit as its first priority. As long as there are willing partners, the college will continue to focus charrettes and studios on design and development opportunities in Detroit. Cost of the charrette is about $75,000.
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