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Oakridge Dental Center recognized with M-Award

The Masonry Institute of Michigan and AIA Michigan have recognized Oakridge Dental Center with an M-Award for Excellence in Masonry Design.

The jury stated: “A thoughtful and elemental use of a simple material, the white, mineral painted brick is skillfully contrasted with the black window mullions.”

The Water Street Coffee Drive-Thru recognized with M-Award

The Masonry Institute of Michigan and AIA Michigan have recognized the Water Street Coffee Drive-Thru with an M-Award for Excellence in Masonry Design.

The jury stated: “An utterly modest building, accepting of its context, but with great attention paid to the articulation of masonry and the visual experience of the façade from a slow-moving automobile.” 

House of Pure Vin receives AIA Michigan Honor Award

Detroit’s House of Pure Vin received a 2017 award in the Interior Design Category, which marks the 3rd AIA Michigan award for M1DTW in three years. 

House of Pure Vin was also recently named Best Wine Shop by HOUR Detroit Readers!

Durability in Design 

One of our earliest projects, 6 Salon celebrated it’s 14th anniversary over the weekend, having opened on March 25, 2003. In an industry known for fashionable trends and disposable style, we are particularly proud of the longevity we achieved with this project.

While there have been a number of updates and additions, the core physical character of the salon has remain unchanged. This is due in part to the continued significance of two aspects of the salon: it’s spatial character and performance; and the social interaction between the stylist and their client.

The client invested in design that extended from the facade and shell of the space down to all of its physical elements — highly durable workstations and furniture elements. And while our intention was never to be ‘green’ per se, the quality of the materials has broken the cycle of disposable ‘remodeling’ that the industry is known for. The materials wear well in a demanding environment while also being highly recyclable, from the stainless steel, aluminum, and glass used throughout.

The design, while distinctive, and fixed in many ways, also provided flexibility for growth and adaptation: a flowing curtain become a fixed glass wall several years ago; two additional stations were added early, updated wall graphics on the salon’s few drywall surfaces were recently added, and replacement equipment (new chairs and bowls): while the stations remain unchanged all these years later, storage pods were added following their introduction at the Old Woodward location in 2014.

The furniture has also held up remarkably well, with the original chairs and sofa still in use. The Bertoia chairs have new seat pads and the Eames compact sofa has been reupholstered (and was due again at the time of the photographs), but have broken in like a well-worn baseball mitt, as Charles Eames has said.

The branding has also served as a consistent marker for the salon, with a limited palette of typography, wit, and color, but perhaps that’s a discussion for another time.

We have composed a series of then and now photographs where it is possible to compare the project since its opening and how it is today.

Excited to see the finished copy of our research document for Detroit’s Fisher Building after spending months combing through the archives. Our work was best summed up recently by our client:

[M1/DTW is] "cataloging every piece of history, every sourcing of the marble, the hardware, the history of the tenants, the original brochures, what role (the Fisher) played over time, the people who were here, the tenants who were here," Cummings said.

"They are doing almost an archeology."