Historic Eastern Market area focus of design charrette

Hailed for its vibrance and longevity, the Eastern Market is one of Detroit's enduring gems. First established as an open-air market in 1841, the neighborhood surrounding the historic marketplace is the focus of the seventh annual Taubman College Detroit Design Charrette Jan. 21-24.

Sen. Carl Levin (center left) receives an explanation of a charrette team's proposal from Lance Jay Brown (center right), architecture chair of the School of Architecture at the City University of New York. He is accompanied by Roy Strickland (far left), Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning director of urban design, and Douglas Kelbaugh, (far right), TCAUP dean. The senator visited during the final day of the 2004 West Riverfront charrette. (Photo courtesy Taubman College Of Architecture + Urban Planning)

In addition to continuing its original purpose of serving the general public, the Eastern Market caters to wholesalers, processors and distributors located in the area, and functions as a site for football tailgating by Detroit Lions fans.

In June the Eastern Market Reinvestment Strategy was selected as one of 20 recipients of a $100,000 Cool Cities Catalyst Grant, a community improvement program funded by the State of Michigan.

Plans have been made and funds currently are being secured for substantial renovations of the market's historic sheds. While others attend to the overhaul of the market itself, A. Alfred Taubman School of Architecture + Urban Planning (TCAUP) students, their faculty mentors and a number of people from the community are trying to envision the possibilities for the entire neighborhood.

On Jan. 21, the initial day of the charrette, participants will tour the site and hear from key stakeholders. At the conclusion of the presentations four design teams will be formed, whose members distill the information presented; perform site analyses; conduct brainstorming sessions; refine concepts; formulate design proposals; and prepare drawings, models and other materials for final presentation.

In addition, business, law, urban planning and public policy students, led by local developers, will analyze the concepts and projects proposed by the teams and formulate implementation strategies for the proposals.

The workshop culminates Jan. 24 beginning at 4:15 p.m. with an exhibit and continues from 5-7 p.m. with a public presentation at the Gem Theatre.

"The annual Detroit Design Charrette is a way for up to 100 students, faculty, staff and guest professionals to serve the community, while simultaneously and intensively pursuing the University's mission of teaching, research and service," says TCAUP Dean Douglas Kelbaugh.

The results of the four-day event are widely distributed and available as a tool to help the public and private sectors in Detroit refine and implement some of the concepts. A CD of edited materials from the presentations is created for quick distribution to key stakeholders and interested parties shortly after the charrette's conclusion. The information also is posted on the college Web site at http://www.tcaup.umich.edu/
charrette/.

A publication outlining the charrette proposals, including a comprehensive analysis of the implementation strategies for each proposal, typically is released in the late spring or early summer following the event.

For more information contact Janice Harvey or Greg Wells at (734) 763-1300 or via email at charrette@umich.edu.