Urban Scarification: an Architectural Strategy of Healing

Abstract

The Motor City takes pride in its rich history. As a former leader in industry and advancement, Detroit continues to thrive on international automotive renown, business enterprise and riverfront development. Beautifully restored historic districts, such as Indian Village, Sherwood Forest and Corktown enclose pockets of communities scattered throughout the city, where residents come together as neighborhood associations in each area. Over the decades however, the city has become victim to racially-charged riots, government leadership scandals and economic deficiencies. Parts of the city have become dangerous and volatile due to an increase of illegal drug handling, gang violence and criminal behavior. Slowly, but steadily, people of the city have moved out and found refuge in neighboring suburbs. The only things left in these forgotten areas are the memories of life, the histories of people that contributed to a once thriving metropolis. Time and character are carefully preserved and restored in the historic districts, which allow for architectural aesthetics and community enhancement to positively penetrate throughout the lives of its residents. Even though abandoned houses do not enhance the community and negatively affect the well-being of residents, the history of these structures still remains. Within a community buildings can exist in different stages that either contribute to or inhibit the life of its residents. A building that is occupied and properly maintained on a daily basis is considered ‘healthy’, and contributes to the well-being of the community. In addition, other buildings have been physically restored and re-developed into new programs and more specifically are considered to be ‘healthy with scars’. Buildings in the ‘wounded’ stage are those that are not maintained or occupied, and are structurally unstable. These buildings are not desirable and do not enhance the neighborhood’s identity and well-being. The ‘healing’ stage includes buildings that appear to be ‘wounded’ but are boarded up and protected from external damage. They have the most potential to be ‘healthy’ again, by positively contributing to a growing community. The aged Detroit neighborhood, Brush Park, has become a diverse urban fabric collage with houses abandoned and demolished, condominiums and lofts constructed, public institutions established and vacant land blossoming with natural vegetation. There is much healing potential that awaits within the vacant structures that can be activated as program nodes. In the same way, the vacant landscape exists as an empty canvas, waiting to be re-established as a common space that can be a catalyst for creating a new identity for the community. Just as a building can be ‘scarred‘ through physical restoration and intervention of a new program, so too can the landscape be ‘scarified’ as interconnecting fibers of active nodes that create a new layer of urban fabric with the existing fabric collage. How can the healing potential of a broken community be used to promote new life and identity through scarification?