During the preparations for my Hip Hop Inspired Architecture exhibit at the AIA Convention, I worked with professionals including hip hop artist, architects and photographers from all around the country to put on a successful show. The commonality amongst these professionals is the love of hip hop. I must say that their love for hip hop is deeper than the superficial infatuation with pop culture, these professionals, just as I, can easily profess "I AM HIP HOP"! Check out my post about GB Cortez.
Read MoreHighland Park, Michigan Underground Pedestrian Tunnels - Then vs Now
As a youngster growing up in Highland Park, Michigan I was always baffled by the barren, dilapidated concrete structures which sat at the corner of my elementary school. The mystery was heightened when I was I child, because the structures remained covered by metal shutters for obvious security issues. The metal shutters used to cover the stairs were frequently used as an impromptu instrument as students stood atop and stomped repeatedly to make as much noise as possible during the walk to school or at the end of classes. The reverberating noise created by the metal panels over a voided structure was soul satisfying for some odd reason. I can also remember those loud thunderous noises being the soundtrack to various childhood fights I witnessed. Standing atop these structures were the best seat at the intersecting corners where skirmishes would frequently occur. It was not clear to us as children that these concrete structures were actually stairs which lead children to underground passages.
Read MoreDetroit Collaborative Design Center 20th Anniversary
Dan Pitera, gave me my start in architecture. As a student at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI, I visited the University of Detroit Mercy's School of Architecture on a field trip. While there, Dan Pitera engaged us high school students in a discussion about The City of Detroit, architecture and what it means to design. It was my first introduction to the depths of architecture philosophy and the revitalizing power within the profession.
Read MoreDetroit Parking Garage Transformed into Street Art Gallery for the Z Project
The Z is a parking garage in downtown Detroit, and it's not just the name that makes it stand out. The 10-story garage has a 3-D-style facade and the garage gallery includes the work of 27 international artists, including Maya Hayuk, Interesni Kazki, Cyrcle, Sam Friedman, Augustine Kofie, Dabs Myla, Smash 137, Gaia, Pose and Revok, just to name a few. Many of the artists come from a street art or contemporary art background that reflects the gallery’s aesthetic. “The project pretty much encapsulates the building that we’re in,” said Anthony Curis of the Library Street Collective. “It’s a very nontraditional space, but Detroit is a very nontraditional city.”
Read MoreToni Griffin: A new vision for rebuilding Detroit
Once the powerhouse of America's industrial might, Detroit is more recently known in the popular imagination as a fabulous ruin, crumbling and bankrupt. But city planner Toni Griffin asks us to look again -- and to imagine an entrepreneurial future for the city's 700,000 residents.
Griffin recently served as director of the Detroit Works Project, and in 2012 completed and released Detroit Future City, a comprehensive citywide framework plan for urban transformation
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