The aim of the competition organised by Young Architects Competitions was to design a new showpiece of the downtown Detroit waterfront, which would complement the western part of the city. The participants of the competition were to design a new skyscraper, which would serve many purposes: residential, office, hotel and service. It was also pivotal to create an attractive public space with recreational areas for residents.

The jury awarded the third prize to the SOWA team made up of: Joanna Cieślikowska, Sylwia Darewicz, Weronika Majchrowicz, Aleksandra Wtulich The authors of the Detroit 3.0 project are graduates or students of our Faculty of Architecture. They have been a spontaneous project team since 2017.

The Detroit Waterfront District competition was very special for them, as during the student exchange program a few years earlier, they had had the opportunity to get to know the city.

These are their comments on the project:

The architects prepared a recreational part from the water side. Behind it, there are three towers with three main functions pertaining to the hotel, residential and the office areas.

The structure was designed as steel, in line with the ecological philosophy of reusing the material. To minimise energy consumption, the facades are naturally ventilated. Thermal springs are used in the heating and cooling system. Outside the light curtain wall there is a steel lattice frame that allows plants to grow on each floor. The greenery refreshes the inflowing air and provides shade for the facade. The rooms also have additional window blinds for manual operation of the sunlight.

Joanna Cieślikowska, Sylwia Darewicz, Weronika Majchrowicz and Aleksandra Wtulich decided to adapt the design to the Detroit grid - they opened it towards the river and created connections with the surrounding buildings through the use of green planes descending from individual towers. This is how an area rich in vegetation and bustling with life was created, attractive for both residents and visitors.

The project also assumes covering the area surrounding the skyscraper with a park, incl. adjacent car park and roof of TCF Center.

The awarded Project Detroit

The concept combines the past and the future. This happens, i. a., due to the location of the water axis perpendicular to the river line, and references to the Art Deco style characteristic of Detroit.

Source: architekturaibiznes.pl