Recently, SmithGroup, an award-winning, global, integrated design firm, expanded its geographic footprint in the Great Lakes region with the opening of a new office location in Cleveland, Ohio. The expansion is intended to build upon its legacy of work in the Great Lakes region, joining a network of operations in Ann Arbor, Chicago, Detroit, Madison, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh, and to…
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Soulful space
For Adina Hall, RA, design is a pursuit of striking the right balance between the technical details and artistic vision, which must coalesce to deliver functional spaces infused with meaning and purpose. It is about crafting spaces that serve as both respite and inspiration, where emotive narratives are woven like rich threads and functional organization, giving way to interior environments…
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Bold concepts
Conceptual design is a process, an ideation, and a framework. It is a creative solution and strategic plan that explores the potential of space, of experience, and of expression. It is a foundation in which client vision and lifestyle needs, form and function, organization and relationship, are given visual—abstract and technical—shape and express a design language distinctive to its users…
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Building delight
The team at Giraffe Design Build LLC believe that a finely designed and expertly crafted home encourages inspired living and generates delight for both people and the environment. Their goal is simply to bring joy to people’s lives. The Ann Arbor, Michigan–based company affirms the principles of effective design, careful craftsmanship, open communication, and responsible stewardship of their clients’ homes,…
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Building better lives
“Our mission statement is to build better lives for our clients and our employees. I think the construction industry as a whole is uniquely positioned and I think our segment of the market is different in that we don’t build speculatively, we don’t go buy land and make you build with us, we are very much custom and clients choose…
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Building Someday
Built high into the steep, dune bluffs in Leelanau County, this contemporary lakefront home transcends traditional vernacular as it stands witness to the drama of a dynamic Lake Michigan theater. Magnetic and mercurial, the lake is one of expressive hue, shifting sands, and powerful currents set amid ancient forests, towering headlands, and islands of tilted limestone layers buried beneath glacial…
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Rhythm and scale
Built at the intersection of W. Fulton Street and N. Halsted Street, 800 Fulton Market is an intentional composition of materiality, form, and function, where architectural expression is informed by the grit, the resilience, and the innovation of an industrial past and vibrant future. Its three-story podium, from which the 19-story, mixed-use office building rises, is inspired by the rhythm…
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New space to thrive
Ghafari Associates LLC, a global architecture and engineering firm, announced Nov. 3, 2022 it will hold an official grand opening of its new space in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The private event is a celebration of the newly renovated 8,500-square-foot office space overlooking Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids, featuring design inspiration from the firm’s…
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Island oasis
Landscape, as a design practice and as a research field, is a rich and complex discipline with the powerful potential to influence the human experience and its relationship with the surrounding environment. It can serve as a catalyst, inspiring innovative strategies and solutions to address social, economic, environmental, and health issues, where landscapes—urban, rural, coastal, wooded, and agrarian—are brought to…
