THE DETROIT STUDIO
2990 WEST GRAND BOULEVARD, DETROIT, MI 48202
Serving Students and Community in Southeastern Michigan
Studio Projects and Activities
We are pleased to give you an update on the Detroit Studio projects and activities for the Summer and Fall 2006 terms.
Donation to The Detroit Studio
I would like to start our semesterly studio update with this news. James Grigsby, President and CEO of JPRA Architects graciously donated $10,000 to The Detroit Studio. It is most special because it is his personal donation to our studio program. The University, College and Detroit Studio will ensure that the money will be well spent on causes that are of concern to the studio.
New Detroit Studio Website
We are happy to report that The Detroit Studio now has a new website (under construction). Please check it out and let us know what you think about it: http://www.ltu.edu/architecture_and_design/architecture/detroit_studio.asp
Studio Project
During the Fall 2006 term, junior and graduate architecture/urban design studios have been working on the “Urban Agriculture, Health and Fitness Center Bldg Design + Urban Agriculture-based Community Master Plan Study” project. Our studio has been collaborating with a local community development corporation (Christ Community Development Corporation) representing the East Warren community. The Greening of Detroit and MSU Extension Program in Detroit have been participating in studio progress reviews. Eric Hill, PhD, FAIA (Detroit Studio Advisory Committee member, Professor of Architecture at the University of Michigan, and Principal of Lord Aeck Sargent Architecture, Ann Arbor), Mark Nickita, AIA (President of Archive DS), and John Hrovat, OAA (Manager of Architectural Design at Albert Kahn Associates, Inc.) graciously donated their time to critique students’ projects through November. This project is sponsored by the Boston Society of Architects through its national research grant award that our studio received in Summer 2006. For more detail, please see the attached file Lawrence Tech News 
Studio Publication
In Summer 2006, The Detroit Studio published the Southfield City Center Study, the result of a funded architecture and community design project sponsored by the Southfield City Center Advisory Board. This project was conducted at the Detroit Studio during the Fall 2005 term. Fifteen junior architecture students collaborated with the Southfield Planning Department, Planning Commission and other city entities.
Peer Review Journal Publication
Associate Professor Joongsub Kim, PhD, AIA, AICP published an article entitled “Exploring Social Construction in Architectural Pedagogy” in Open House International, UK (Sep. 2006), a peer review journal in planning and design. This article discusses basic theories behind the Detroit Studio projects.
Research/Outreach Project
Several junior and graduate students worked on the project entitled “Kids’ Cams: Children Designing Their Neighborhood Through Their Own Lenses” in collaboration with local middle schools and community agencies in Summer 2006. The goal was for LTU architecture students to help 7th grade children in Detroit’s impoverished communities with producing videos about their neighborhoods and developing master plans. Thanks to The Greening of Detroit and the Christ Community Development Corporation, a number of local middle schools and community agencies participated in this project. Based on the outcome of videos, middle school children developed master plans using scale models. The whole process and project outcome were captured in the videos produced by LTU students and children. The final videos were viewed by the children’s teachers, parents, and school principals, residents, community agency representatives, and other stakeholders at LTU and participating communities. This experimental video project is funded by the American Architectural Foundation, Washington D.C. For more detail, please see the Lawrence Tech News .
New Faculty Appointment
We are pleased to announce that Assistant Professor Anirban Adhya joined our faculty in Fall 2006. He will be teaching full-time at the Detroit Studio. He is currently working on his doctoral degree at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
News on Graduate Urban Design Program
As many of you probably know already, the College is offering a new Master of Architecture degree in Urban Design Concentration, which was launched this term. As part of that program, all graduate level urban design thesis/studio courses are offered at the Detroit Studio (other graduate concentration thesis/studios are offered on the main campus). To attract prospective graduate students, the College is offering a variety of new scholarship awards. I would greatly appreciate it if you could circulate this news widely among your colleagues and others who might be interested in our MArch/Urban Design program. For more information, please visit the Detroit Studio website.
I would like to thank Dean Glen LeRoy, FAIA, FAICP, Associate Dean Joe Veryser, Assistant Dean Dr. Virginia North, and Chair Ed Orlowski for their continued support for the Detroit Studio. My special thanks goes to Sallie Ilg, an evening faculty secretary at LTU for her assistance in helping me with the Detroit Studio program.
As always, I am grateful to the Detroit Studio Advisory Committee members for their continued support and advice.