Detroit Creative City - Urban Manufacturing

"Detroit Creative City - Urban Manufacturing" is a project that, starting from the study of the complex history of Detroit, aims to find a possible solution to one of its many crucial challenges. The goal is to give new life to one of the many industrial architectures abandoned in the second half of the 1900s, a rebirth in line with the ideals of the Maker Movement and Creative Cities, which are among the most active revitalization strands in the city. After 1950, Detroit went from being the fourth most populous city in the US, the pulsating heart of automobile production, the "Motor City", to being abandoned by more than half of its population, shrinking and sinking until declaring bankruptcy in 2013. But Detroit is also one of the greatest expressions of "do it yourself", driven by a strong desire for rebirth, by proud citizens full of initiative. It is this desire and dynamism that drives the idea of believing in those who want to do something new, to carry on the American Dream, to give proper value to the “Made in US”, specifically to the “Made in Detroit”, and how this can become part of its present and future identity. The Maker Movement is a DIY movement based on collaboration and problem solving that is present in many US cities and capable of influencing economy, business, education, culture, and re-urbanization. The birth of the movement was a revolution that created a new model within the American production system through shared, flexible and mixed workspaces. Detroit is already home to some significant Makerspaces, leading with Ponyride, together with Empowerment Plan, OmniCorpDetroit, and Dreamtroit. Shinola, on the other hand, is an emblematic example of the success of the “Made in Detroit” around the world. Detroit is part of UNESCO's Creative Cities Network, and is the only City of Design in the US. Its willingness to lead a sustainable, inclusive and equitable renaissance demonstrates its legacy and commitment to using design as a tool for economic development. Creative Cities are emerging as centers of experimentation, leading to new and successful growth models. The project aims to rethink the architecture of manufacturing embedded in the urban context, trying to understand how and in what forms and spaces manufacture returns to the city. The Adaptive Reuse of disused industrial sites is an answer to the need for new places of production, both because their spatial flexibility allows for multiple uses and configurations and also due to the fact that the redevelopment of historic buildings is capable of activating urban regeneration processes. The American post-industrial city, hoping for a "back to the city" movement of the Creative Class, has attempted to address the problem of vacancy through the Adaptive Reuse, but, while cities have been engines of innovation, the Gentrification and segregation associated with this resurgence has created an environment of inequality and division. The decision to locate the project in the Historic Corktown District is based on the fact that it is a neighborhood rich in history, strategically located near Downtown, a place where many processes that attract young and creative are already going on and in need of accessible opportunities. The goal is to create a new typology of Urban Manufacturing space, a mixed-use building out of one of Corktown's many abandoned warehouses, that blends into the existing fabric and can be replicated in the many buildings with similar characteristics to the one being studied, in Detroit and beyond.