Detroit’s East Village neighborhood has a new community hub designed by the architectural firm T+E+A+M. The project, named “Building in a Building,” features four retail spaces, a cafe, and an outdoor basketball court set in the facades of a previous building. With a strong emphasis on adaptive reuse, the project bridges Detroit’s past and future in a community-centered commercial space.
T+E+A+M is a southeast Michigan based architecture firm founded by four Taubman College faculty members: Thom Moran, associate professor of architecture; Ellie Abrons, associate professor of architecture and director of the U-M Digital Studies Institute; Adam Fure, associate professor of architecture; and Meredith Miller, associate professor of architecture and director of the master of architecture program.
Originally tasked with renovating an old building on the corner of Jefferson Avenue, the group ran into multiple difficulties. Because the building had stood vacant for years, it suffered from extensive water damage that weakened the integrity of the roof and steel supports that span the storefront openings. This limited the ability to reuse and adapt certain elements of the existing structure.
Pollution was also a major concern. One of the previous tenants on the site was a dry-cleaner. Because dry-cleaners typically leave behind chemicals as a byproduct of cleaning, soil remediation — removing chemicals from the soil — was required before the site could host a variety of retail and community uses.
Rather than restore the existing building to its original condition, T+E+A+M suggested a strategy of selective demolition, leaving behind the historic brick facade to frame a courtyard next to a newly built structure.
