Six55 Detroit
2023 / Detroit MI
FINDING THE MISSING MIDDLE
Detroit has faced severe disinvestment across its urban fabric since losing two-thirds of its population in the 1960s and 70s. The last two decades have brought renewed optimism, as interest in economic development has picked up. Driven primarily by large-scale companies and institutions, most recent new investments have been concentrated downtown, while the city’s sprawling urban fabric continues to struggle.
Situated in the Midtown neighborhood on West Willis Street, Six55 Detroit is a 37,000 SF, 4-story mixed-use multifamily with 36 apartments above a ground floor cafe, lobby and parking. The building serves as a model for mid-scale infill development in a city largely dominated by extra-large scale on the one hand and extreme vacancy on the other.
MINING MIDTOWN
Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood features modest mid-rise apartment buildings in much of its intact urban fabric. Set back from the street with large front yards and distinctive recessed porches on multiple levels, these existing models of mid-scale density within the Willis-Selden Local Historic District served as inspriation for the design approach at Six55 Detroit.
SUPER PORCH
The required front yard setback created an opportunity for an expanded and activated public streetscape. The facade reinvents the historic superporch as an enhanced social streetscape amenity. Meeting the ground with a small cafe and landscaped yard, the folded planes create facade depth while maximizing views and providing unique outdoor balconies for units facing West Willis. The common roof deck is situated overlooking the streetscape, creating a connected experience for residents as well as passersby.
CUT AND FOLD
The folded front acknowledges the building’s existing neighbors, bending in from larger buildings to one side, and out to align with a smaller Victorian house on the other. Adjusting to its surroundings, the facade geometry frames the building’s entry lobby and activates the front yard setback as a landscaped extension of the pedestrian life of the street.
DIVERSE MIX
The project’s mix of residential unit typologies appeals to a diverse range of needs, budgets and lifestyles. The program includes 36 compact apartments above a modestly-scaled ground floor commercial space and parking lot. A total of 9 studios, 18 one-bedrooms, and 9 two-bedroom units occupy the C-shaped structure, with 25 parking spaces below.
HEAVY METAL
Textured metal cladding pays homage to Detroit’s history of metal fabrication and industrial production with a mix of standing seam and corrugated metal with panels of varying widths offset by bright orange accents highlighting the inset superporch.
