STUDENTS
Orli Schwartz, Larissa McCoy, Ray Richardson
PROFESSOR
Lars Gräbner + Christina Hansen
Built around a disused historic public lighting substation, Illume increases medium-density housing at a critical intersection along the newly proposed Second Avenue Greenway acting as a stepping stone to create a more robust pedestrian connection between Corktown and Downtown Detroit. The adaptive reuse of the
substation into a market and food hall anchors activity on the site, providing access to food in an area without reliable public transit or walkable access to grocery stores. Three apartment blocks are arranged to form a collective back-front yard with community centered spaces facing inward on the first level, providing protection from the persistent traffic of Michigan Avenue. The design of the interlocking units is based on a single-loaded skip-stop corridor configuration that helps to concentrate casual interactions between residents and allows for shared outdoor balcony space.