In Downtown Detroit, a city known for its community of designers, industrialists, creatives, and culinary artists, this adaptive reuse of a 1940s-designed Art Deco Streamline Moderne building near Woodward Avenue along Parker’s Alley is a thoughtful curation of the old and the new. Realized by a collaborative design, build, and creative team led by the award-winning firm of McIntosh Poris Associates Inc. in Birmingham, Michigan for clients Holly McClain and Shawn McClain, renowned restauranteurs and hospitality leaders, Olin Bar & Kitchen breathes rich, eclectic life and depth throughout its roughly 3,900-square-foot main level. It is a concept where buried architectural origin, and the seasonal, flavorful ingredients inherent to both Michigan…
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E.W. Kitchens’ 75th anniversary
Celebrating 75 years of business this year, E.W. Kitchens is a family-owned, full-service kitchen and bath design firm founded in 1947. The business is headquartered in Wixom, Michigan, which is also where their warehouse is located, and has a smaller, upscale showroom inside the Michigan Design Center in Troy, Michigan. E.W. Kitchens’ showroom inside the Michigan Design Center features their offerings of high-end cabinetry with kitchen displays showcasing a variety of different design styles, as well as other products such as range hoods and The Galley Workstation, a unique sink design that doubles as a workstation to prepare and serve meals. Although E.W. Kitchens primarily works on kitchen and bath…
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City Lights Detroit
In Troy, Michigan, tucked within the Michigan Design Center’s rich campus of design resources for hobbyists and professionals alike, there is an exclusive provider of products by Visual Comfort & Co., a Texas-based resource for designer lighting that has been a leader in its industry since the late 1980s. City Lights Detroit brings the premier offerings of Visual Comfort’s American designer portfolio—from designers like Kelly Wearstler to Ralph Lauren and Clodagh—to a Michigan market, providing many more services for clients along the way. “At City Lights Detroit we specialize in Visual Comfort lighting and help make recommendations for clients based on their style and budget, and limitations like size or…
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Connection point
Discovery, expression, and connection: they are concepts that define the role resource centers can play at both the local community and international level. Resources, regardless of type—natural, physical, human, or speculative—by definition are assets to be drawn upon for functional needs, and the spaces built around them, in support or in preservation, offer a place of collaboration, education, and experience. From the literary temples of poetic, philosophic, and historical work—and the modern library that has evolved from it to meet ever-evolving needs of communities—and the more intangible boundaries that house the ecological conservation of parks and oceans, to the places that house the creative work of industry, resource centers, like…
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Historic drive
In Harbor Springs, Michigan, an unassuming garage exterior holds a microcosm of active space within for a lifetime collection of automotive experience and memorabilia. Historic artifacts and refurbished cars from different eras in the automotive industry weave together a unique and personal account of its heritage. Inside, a lounge, office, curated showroom, garage, and workspace converge into a project that was as rewarding to complete as it was to design. In its surroundings, the approximately 5,000-square-foot garage is described as “urban camo” by its architect, Elaine Keiser, AIA, NCARB, of Elaine Keiser Architect Inc. in Petoskey Michigan. Keiser and her team have built a sweeping portfolio of retail and restaurant…
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Q&A: Carrie Long Interiors
Home offices spaces have perhaps never played such an integral and important role in everyday function as they do now. Nationwide, homeowners can be found flipping entire rooms, secluded corners of their houses, and even kitchen tables into makeshift office spaces where the same daily work duties are performed as they were in the workplace. The differences between these home offices and their more corporate counterparts are clear, but for Royal Oak, Michigan-based Interior Designer Carrie Long, the home office has all the potential to yield rich periods of productivity and co-working with the help of intuitive, personalized design. Long’s career and eponymous design firm Carrie Long Interiors LLC are…
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Focal Point
From bettering focus in the workplace and classroom to quieting libraries and helping hospital patients sleep, acoustic controls play an important part in the experience of a built environment. Architecturally, measures to distribute natural resources like light and sound are as relevant as ever, as many markets address a growing need for ergonomic and holistic design solutions focused on emotional, physical, and mental comfort. In Chicago, lighting manufacturer Focal Point LLC has been on the forefront of these architectural accent materials for more than two decades, releasing many products that can be found in office, education, hospitality, and medical spaces alike. Recently, its acclaimed Acoustic Solutions Portfolio has been joined…
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Barbershop lounge
“There is a lot of same-old-same-old in the world and differentiating yourself to really make sure you are answering questions for your guests or customers that aren’t even asked—that you have thought through it—design is everything about that,” said James Geier, founder and president of 555 International in Chicago. “Answer the questions before they are asked and when somebody walks in they know it is a good, rich environment that has been pulled together for the right reasons, not just all these miscellaneous ideas.” 555 International is an award-winning global interior design, development, and fabrication firm specializing in the commercial, retail, and hospitality industries. For more than three decades, the…
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Orchestral light
For architectural lighting designer Gwen Grossman, LC, IALD, and IES, lighting is the design element that can finish an entire experience. Within any setting, it can shape and highlight details, create cohesion, and even alter mood. This, combined with the collaborative nature of designing with light, makes the process similar to theatrical production, which is foundational in Grossman’s background with time spent designing theatrical lighting. “What drives me is the collaboration and creating something with the architect and our team that provides a space—whether it’s for students or restaurants, or corporate interiors—with a total experience,” said Grossman, principal and founder of Gwen Grossman Lighting Design in Chicago, Illinois. Gwen Grossman…
