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ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Identifying Detroit: Representing Tension, Conflict, and Hope in Detroit Architecture

RUDARY, THOMAS J.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1212172678

Abstract Details

2008, MARCH, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Architecture (Master of).
Since the 1950s, Detroit's businesses and residents have been steadily migrating to the suburbs, taking with them much of the cultural, social, and economic diversity that once clearly defined Detroit's sense of identity. The area surrounding Grand Circus Park, intended to be the city's center upon its inception 200 years ago, is today characterized not as the heart of a major metropolis, but rather by a few significant attractions surrounded by a sea of empty lots and abandoned buildings. These attractions serve Detroit as independent, isolated nodes of life with no real connection to the rest of the city - people drive in, view what they wish to see in a static, isolated environment, and drive out. By filling the empty lots with useable outdoor space, and eating, shopping, living, and working opportunities, this thesis will attempt to stitch the individual entities together into a cohesive whole, creating a forum for public interaction in an area where so many of the different classes and groups of Detroit are already drawn. By focusing on the physical and social history of the city, the resulting urban design and architecture project will establish, explore, and celebrate the hybrid sense of identity that has been so crucial to Detroit's sense of self. This will be design inspired and guided by the tension and conflict that has defined Detroit, but also the hope for the future that will allow Detroit to rise beyond the city's decline. The result will serve as a unifying entity in the city, both functionally - bringing people together in a beautiful public space; and ideologically - reestablishing the positive identity of Detroit by transcending the social and economic barriers.
Jay Chatterjee (Committee Chair)
Vincent Sansalone (Committee Co-Chair)
93 p.
Architecture
Detroit; Identity

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • RUDARY, T. J. (2008). Identifying Detroit: Representing Tension, Conflict, and Hope in Detroit Architecture [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1212172678

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • RUDARY, THOMAS. Identifying Detroit: Representing Tension, Conflict, and Hope in Detroit Architecture. 2008. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1212172678.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • RUDARY, THOMAS. "Identifying Detroit: Representing Tension, Conflict, and Hope in Detroit Architecture." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1212172678

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1212172678
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© 2008, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.