Detroit, Michigan, USA
Schmidt Hammer Lassen, together with Neumann/Smith Architecture and Copenhagen-based SLA Landscape Architects, has created a new Detroit urban icon for Bedrock Management Service that will be integrated into the cultural heritage of the city.
Monroe Blocks will offer a wide variety of good and accessible common spaces.
Located right at the center of the spokes that connect greater Detroit, the Monroe Blocks development will make an impact far beyond its near context, it will become a destination for the future development of Detroit.
The site today represents a void in the center of Detroit, an important piece of the puzzle, connecting some of the city’s key central public spaces: Cadillac Square, Campus Martius, Library Square, and Woodward.
From Woodward’s plan of Detroit following the 1805 fire to the 1840’s map (middle) showing a dense urban downtown, the current city plan (right) shows a looser urban fabric with many empty plots. Monroe Blocks development will re-establish a missing part of downtown Detroit
Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s new connections will not only bind the city center but also enrich, strengthen and unify the already popular public spaces.
In its historic site, the new development will be integrated into the cultural heritage of the city of Detroit.
The new development combines downtown Detroit’s first high-rise office tower in a generation with over 480 residential units. ‘
The development re-establishes historic alleyways, introducing new public plazas and green space while prioritizing the public realm both indoors and out.
The Monroe Blocks office tower will offer a combination of large floor plates, tall ceiling heights, and access to sunlight currently unprecedented in Detroit.
Drawing people into the site will connect to the flows going across the city between Ford Field, Comerica Park, and the future developments on Little Caesars Arena and its surroundings.
The small side streets will become shortcuts to other destinations in the city.
The building heights are adjusted to optimize the views over the surrounding city and maximize the sunlight exposure.
A shimmering 35-story office tower facing Campus Martius will be backed by impressive amounts of retail, residential apartments, and new public plazas, and green space.
The entire project will make a diverse reflection on urban life.
The mix of uses allows space for varied activities complementing each other to make safe vibrant 24-hour public spaces.
Functions include office, residential, high-street retail, grocery stores, and food markets, entertainment, sport, and leisure facilities, and the potential for exhibition spaces and performance venues.
Monroe Blocks combines high-rise and low-rise 480 residential units, full of public spaces, pedestrian walkways, and green rooftop terraces.
Project: Monroe Blocks
Architects: Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects
Architects of Record: Neumann/Smith Architecture
Landscape Architects: SLA Landscape Architects
Structural Engineers: Buro Happold Engineering
Client: Bedrock Management Service LLC.
Visuals: Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects/ Hayes Davidson
