Designed Theatricality. Jane Jacobs called everyday city animation the “ballet of sidewalk life”, strangers dancing in synchronicity.  In Detroit’s Lafayette Park, the residents are not strangers.  Rather, each day the residents perform a synchronized animation, live performances through the lens of modern architecture.  For, to live in Lafayette Park is to live in a constant state of theatricality, the pre-designed and very deliberate exhibition of both resident and visitor.   The masterplan, architecture, and landscaping strategically combine to create a multitude of voyeuristic portals, viewing frames that project the lives of every resident to one another. Designed within a multiplicity of physical and temporal scales, these portals produce meaningful relationships between the residents and their community, resulting in the fundamental success of LaFayette Park.

The above excerpt has been pulled from an article on LaFayette Park Voyeurism.  All photos courtesy of photographer, Tim Galloway.