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Design Charrette: February 7-21

Project: Grosse Pointe Central Library,

expansion and renovation

Grosse Pointe, MI

Architect: Marcel Breuer, 1953.

The community of Grosse Pointe, Michigan has a cultural treasure that is in danger of being demolished - the Central Library, designed by noted architect and educator Marcel Breuer. Such stories are becoming commonplace across the country. Modern architectural gems are slowly disappearing despite the protests of those who recognize their value as part of our shared twentieth century artistic and cultural heritage.

But there is a chance to save this local landmark from demolition! The Modern Architecture Protection Agency (MAPA) was organized by a group of concerned Archinect members with the express purpose of demonstrating that design ingenuity can lead to solutions that accommodate contemporary needs while respecting modern landmarks. To this end, we have organized a Design Charrette that will show the Grosse Pointe Library’s Board of Directors that imaginative solutions can solve their programmatic needs while saving the Breuer-designed facility from demolition.

“…the library board plans to demolish the Grosse Pointe Central Library and replace it with a newer, bigger structure, despite efforts by some to save the original.

The dispute is unusual on several fronts. Unlike most endangered landmarks, the Central Library isn't a neoclassical or Romanesque edifice from the 1800s, but a modernist work built in 1953.”

Source:

Icon is worth saving. Grosse Pointe Central Library is slated for razing,

Detroit Free Press, January 20, 2007.

Other recent articles on the proposed demolition:

Mid-Century Library to be Demolished

Grosse Pointe library hopes to replace its aging branch

This Design Charrette is open to all interested parties, is noncompetitive, and begins immediately.

MAPA’s primary goal is to gather ideas and proposals that demonstrate the existing library's viability and leverage its unique design and its place in the history of Grosse Pointe. Ideas should be imaginative but also realistic—the best ideas will represent creative possibilities while also serving as a “feasibility study” that the library board can appreciate. Images, narratives, and numbers are all welcome. Submissions will be presented to the library board on February 26th, at their monthly board meeting. Presentation boards will also be displayed at the Ewald Branch Library on March 1st and 2nd, after which time they will be exhibited at another location within the Pointes (to be determined with the help of AIA Detroit‘s Urban Priorities Committee).

Archinect will also host an online gallery of the submissions.

Interested in participating? Here are the format requirements:

Participants should submit their proposals as one or more 11x17 image files (landscape format, .jpg or .tif only please).

There is no limit to the number of 11x17 boards per entry.

There is no limit to the number of entries per participant.

All boards should include the standard title block. Please update with personal information (using Futura font). The standard title block should be located on the right side of each sheet, oriented vertically.

Individual emails should not exceed 10 mb in size.

Submissions should be emailed to BreuerLibraryCharrette@gmail.com on or before midnight, February 21, 2007.

Questions?

Please ask them here.

Summary of Program:

Recommended program square footage: 53,747

Current building gross square footage: 18,740

Addition size to meet recommendation: approx 35,000

Program components:

12,900 sf for book stacks

600 sf for periodicals

2200 sf for audio/visual