DesRosiers Architects, an award-winning architectural firm located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan has specialized in custom residential, institutional, and commercial design for five decades, working with clients to tailor solutions that fit their personality, lifestyle, and brand. Founded and led by third-generation architect, Louis DesRosiers, AIA, president, the firm has built upon a rich legacy in traditional and contemporary design, supported by a team of registered architects, technical draftspersons, and designers. Its residential architecture portfolio is one that reflects a pursuit to create a physical statement through a harmony of art and structure, inviting the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape into the home, whether dynamic mountain range or compelling freshwater…
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For the joy of baking
By definition, baking is the preparation, process, or activity of cooking through the use of heat. From bread and cakes to pastries and cookies, baked goods in all of its iterations across the globe often linger in the minds of those who have savored them, where creativity and heat transform simple ingredients into something more. It is often an art and craft of inspired cultural tradition, bringing people together through story and nourishment. For Annie Paul, owner and executive pastry chef of AP Baked Goods LLC in Zeeland, Michigan, baking is a passion and a therapeutic practice, and one that at its heart is extremely gratifying when it is able…
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Invisible, by design
Though the portfolio of the design-driven, multidisciplinary firm of M1DTW Architects in Detroit, Michigan reflects a distinct breadth of commissioned works from the design of objects, artifacts, identities, and spaces, there is a commonality to the principles and tenets woven throughout each project. There is a sensitivity to resource and material, an intentionality to use and reuse, and a drive to push the boundaries of its creative practice to ultimately deliver spaces, objects, and materials that are nuanced, minimalist, and dynamic. “We think a lot about the role that design can play in people’s lives. I think while it is front-of-mind for me and it is the thing we work…
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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 debris. There is a constant in its transformation, as shipwrecks and natural landscape court the imagination, and for the homeowners of this waterfront residence built just north of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in view of South and North Manitou Islands, the idyllic setting of Lake Michigan served as the…
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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 recent hospitality projects. Tom Tooley, AIA, executive vice president of Ghafari Associates in Grand Rapids, noted creating a functional and inspirational environment for staff to work collaboratively in the space and between offices was one of the main goals of the project. “The incorporated advanced technology to work across offices…
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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 the center of the conversation. It is inherent to the human condition to often be drawn to landscape and contemplate its connection with and to daily life, which the recent pandemic in many ways reinforced the value of living with the land and immediate exterior spaces rather than separate from…
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Work culture designed
For more than 30 years, Farmington Hills, Michigan-based design firm Davis & Davis has been transforming interior spaces with a foundational belief in the compelling and persuasive power of design. Since its founding by Michelle Davis and Howard Davis in 1990, the firm has refined its portfolio and design process by engaging clients in their own design programming, taking care to emphasize the unique narratives of each client, no matter their industrial identity. “This results in innovative space planning, optimized function, and an enhanced team experience that gives employees a sense of ownership and autonomy, while also supporting collaboration, innovation, and productivity,” said Michelle Davis, principal and design director of…
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Designed for flight
In 1986, WACO Aircraft Corporation’s first WACO YMF Classic biplane rolled off the assembly line complete with two open cockpits, stacked wings, radial engine, and handcrafted design in faithful homage to a golden age of flight. Based on the design of the popular 1930s biplane and crafted using techniques from the 1920s and 1930s, WACO Aircraft Corporation’s WACO YMF Classic was not a rebuild or a build kit of the vintage aircraft, but rather a modern production with the latest avionics under the original WACO-type certificate, certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA. WACO Aircraft Corporation, which was founded in 1983 in Lansing before relocating to Battle Creek, Michigan,…
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Art in ceramics
In April 2022, Motawi Tileworks welcomed the spring season with their 4-by-4-inch art tile known as 4×4 Flower Buds, which in a design inspired by an early 1900s art nouveau tile by H. & R. Johnson, Ltd., embraces the delicate nature of a flower. Defined by its ornamental style of art, Art Nouveau rose in popularity throughout Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, inspiring creatives in architecture, glasswork, posters, illustration, and jewelry, among other fields. Flower Buds is available in five different colorways with some featuring the airy pastels of the warmer season, while others present contrast in brighter tones: Grey Blue, Indigo,…
