MICHAEL THUT

This GIF alternates between two inverted figure-ground diagrams of Downtown Detroit, Michigan. The city of Detroit has struggled in many ways over the last few decades, but recently the Downtown area has received significant support for capital investment, both from the private and the public sector. This has resulted in huge growth and construction Downtown, while the remainder of Detroit continues to deteriorate.

The photograph above shows an aerial view of the city block enclosed by Grand River Ave, Gratiot Ave, Broadway St, and Liberty St. Most of the block is a trendy parking garage developed by Bedrock (a large commercial real estate firm based in Detroit). There is an artsy alleyway called The Belt that runs down the middle of the block between the two main structures of the garage. The other buildings on the block house office space while the ground floors house restaurants, an art gallery, a radio station, and a yoga studio just to name a few.

An axonometric drawing of the block further details the Z Garage, the remaining buildings in the block, and the block’s surrounding urban fabric. Due to the recent capital investment in Downtown Detroit, the area is dense in comparison to the rest of Detroit. The public library sits across the street from the Z. The library has a small backyard garden, which acts as a nice reprieve from what is otherwise a paved over area. The People Mover, a 2.94-mile elevated train that circles Downtown Detroit, runs along the bottom of the drawing before curling up the right side of the canvas. Its Cadillac Center station is located on the right side of the drawing where the grey pipe disappears into the neighboring building.

This Actor Network Theory (ANT) Diagram traces out how the Z Garage connects to other actors in the world, including people, organizations, and the surrounding built forms. The diagram particularly focuses on how built forms contribute to the current tension between Downtown Detroit and the rest of the city. This divide is the basis for the perception of two Detroits, the burgeoning downtown district fueled by capital investment and the deteriorating neighborhoods that cover most of the remaining city. Through this diagram one can see the various ways that different groups of people connect to the built environment and how that perpetuates this narrative of inclusion and exclusion.

The short film above is a three-image GIF that transforms The Belt into a more inclusive space. The investment in Downtown Detroit and the transformation of The Belt into an open, public art gallery has created a space that is attractive and accessible to a certain group of people (often Downtown Detroit residents, suburbanites, and tourists). Many people from the surrounding areas of Detroit never enter this space due to the lack of transportation (they don’t have a car) or due to the high cost of activities in the space (the bars, restaurants, concerts, etc. are all quite expensive). The most important part of this GIF is the addition of the subway station. This addition is meant to increase the accessibility to the space, especially for residents who rely on public transportation for their daily needs. To further this conversation on accessibility to space, all the people in the GIF were taken from images of the surrounding Detroit areas. Through this speculation, I found myself asking if these additions would be appreciated by Detroit residents outside of Downtown, or if they would rather see investment in their respective neighborhoods (almost definitely the latter).