Building from Memory

Abstract

The focus of the thesis is about the specificity of place and the memory of how it has evolved. Research of the site provides not only a glimpse of its history, but also an understanding of the people who liveCd), workCed), and playCed) there. It continues to grow and change over time. The landscape offers clues as to how this happened, similar to an archaeological excavation. Physical remnants and infrastructure begin to tell the story of the land. The rest is filled in through interviews with local residents, and research of past documents, maps, and photographs. The site (in lower East Detroit) is still filled with a certain spirit that will never be entirely conceived, although through the architecture and urban scheme it can be remembered and alluded to. By not allowing the memory of the site and landscape to die, a feeling of weight and pride is implanted into the neighborhood. A collaborative effort is needed to further establish the community, and by multiple hands an environment that reflects its past. builds on the current state, and proactively alters its future is created. The specific memory involves elements dealing with the actual land, such as divisions between farms, homes, and boundaries between parcels, and also the act of making and creating, especially during the industrial era in Detroit. Allowing these factors to bleed into the current proposal gives the site new meaning and a renewed sense of pride and ownership in the community.