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ANNOUNCING PANEL DISCUSSION 05 – “archiCRITICAL: EVOLVING DETROIT’S ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM”

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

rogueHAA is pleased to announce the next event in its 2011-2012 panel discussion series: Provocations: Challenging Detroit’s Design Discourse

PANEL DISCUSSION 05: “archiCRITICAL: Evolving Detroit’s Architectural Criticism”
January 26, 2012 – Panel Discussion: 6pm-8pm, Reception to follow: 8pm-9pm
Tech Two (formerly known as Dalgleish Cadillac)
6160 Cass Ave, Detroit

Architectural criticism is a productive and creative literary practice, challenging the architectural profession to consciously examine itself while simultaneously guiding its evolution. Bound in a mutually constructive association, architecture and architectural criticism contribute to each other in reactive and proactive ways.

But what is the function of architectural criticism (and architecture) for societies consumed with economic, social, and environmental crises, which may or may not be directly related to the built environment?  Should architecture (and architectural criticism) focus solely on the built environment, or more actively engage the societies that inhabit and/or fund them?  How does architectural criticism react to a practice (and public) shifting from a desire for superstarchitecture towards socially conscious, equitable design?  Can this symbiotic relationship be more productive towards this end goal?

archiCRITICAL brings together six distinguished architectural critics to expound upon these difficult questions.

Participants:
Frank X. Arvan – President, AIA Detroit
Jennifer Conlin – Contributor, New York Times
Sarah F. Cox – Editor, Curbed Detroit
Michael Hodges – Fine Arts Columnist, Detroit News
Karrie Jacobs – Writer, Architectural Critic, and Editor, Design Observer and Metropolis Magazine
Reed Kroloff – Director, Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
Melissa Dittmer – Event Moderator, rogueHAA

Following the panel discussion we will post a video and written summary of the event.  We will also provide an open comment board for others to share their thoughts on the dialogue.  As always, this event is open and free to the public.

rogueHAA would like to formally thank TechTown for their contributions towards this event.  More imformation on TechTown can be found on their website, http://techtownwsu.org/.

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ROGUEHAA PUBLISHED IN MONU #15 – “CHOOSE YOUR OWN URBANISM”

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011


This new MONU issue on the topic of Post-Ideological Urbanism probably touches on one of the most fascinating and biggest issues of our time and in our culture, or what is left of it: the non-ideological – or better post-ideological – conditions of our society when it comes to cities. Today, ideology ap…pears to have become, and to have been reduced to, something merely aesthetic, something you can buy yourself into as Wouter Vanstiphout explains in an interview with us entitled “Acrobatic Narratives”. In that sense cities have become suspicious territories where hypocrisy and fakery prevail when it comes to urban ideologies…and a new sincerity is obviously needed in a world consisting of a multiplicity of choices and urban outcomes without a single consistent urban ideology as Melissa Dittmer, Jamie Witherspoon, and Noah Resnick point out in their piece “Choose Your Own Urbanism Presents: The Case of the Missing Ideal”.

The following text is an excerpt from an article entitled “CHOOSE YOUR OWN URBANISM PRESENTS: The Case of the Missing Ideal” that has been recently published in the latest MONU magazine:

It’s a hot, dry and dusty afternoon… But, then again, all the afternoons are hot, dry and dusty in Sin City.  You’re in your shoebox of an office with the top three buttons of your white cotton shirt undone, a damp towel on the back of your neck, and the sound of a rickety two-dollar fan blowing in your face.  The A.C. is on the fritz again, and you’re just about to phone up that good-for-nothing building super to complain, when you hear three soft taps on the glass pane of your office door – the one that reads: Calvin Lynch, Private Detective.

You ask her to have a seat in the worn leather armchair and offer her a cigarette and a glass of flat ginger ale.  She accepts neither and says she prefers to stand. 

“I’m searching for something,” she finally says, after standing in front of the window, staring out through the half-closed blinds. “They say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, but this thing didn’t stay.  Or, maybe it never existed to begin with. Either way, I need your help.”

(more…)

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ANNOUNCING PANEL DISCUSSION 04 – INCENTIVES : FUNDING ADVOCACY

Friday, October 28th, 2011

 

rogueHAA is pleased to announce the next event in its 2011-2012 panel discussion series: Provocations: Challenging Detroit’s Design Discourse

PANEL DISCUSSION 04: “INCENTIVES – Funding Advocacy”
November 15, 2011 – Panel Discussion: 6pm-8pm, reception to follow
Cass City Cinema at The Burton Theatre
3420 Cass Avenue

Detroit’s deep history  of commercial innovation and industrial production has created innumerable stories of prosperity and devastation.  From this spectrum of aspiration and consequence has emerged a fertile environment that gives root to new creativity and opportunity, while establishing a remarkable legacy of philanthropic and institutional support. This environment has created a sophisticated network of resources, where large scale national foundations, anchor institutions, and influential local leaders work alongside small scale arts groups, community development coalitions, entrepreneurs, and development advocates to cultivate locally focused programs. 

In the space of this network, numerous projects are underway, and many more are yet to come.  Our discussion will catalogue these efforts, discuss their impact, and outline new and innovative strategies for grants, incentives and other programs in the future. 

Participants:
Melinda Anderson – Detroit Creative Corridor Center
Heather Carmona – Woodward Avenue Action Association
George Jacobsen – Kresge Foundation
Rishi Jaitly – Knight Foundation
Sue Mosey – Midtown Detroit Inc
Dan Kinkead – Event Moderator, HAA

Following the panel discussion we will post a video and written summary of the event.  We will also provide an open comment board for others to share their thoughts on the dialogue.  As always, this event is open and free to the public. (more…)

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DETROIT DESIGN FESTIVAL : DICH{2}OTOMY INSTALLATION

Friday, September 16th, 2011

 

DICH{2}OTOMY: Architectural Installation – Opening Reception

September 23 | Lafayette Garden | 6-9pm

As part of the Detroit Design Festival presented by the Detroit Creative Corridor Center, rogueHAA is pleased to announce, DICH{2}OTOMY, an interactive architectural installation set in the dynamic context of Detroit’s Lafayette Garden.  The piece is composed of an interactive field of clear columns filled with liquid which simultaneously reflect, frame, and distort one’s view of the surrounding environment. These ‘illuminated shadows’ multiply, overlap, and converge creating a vibrant and dynamic experience through which to re-imagine the city.  While the opening reception will be held on Friday, September 23rd, the installation will remain in the Lafayette Garden until Wednesday, September 28th.

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ANNOUNCING PANEL DISCUSSION 03 – DEFIANCE : DISOBEDIENT DESIGN

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

 

As part of the Detroit Design Festival presented by the Detroit Creative Corridor Center, rogueHAA is pleased to announce the third event in its 2011/2012 series: PROVOCATIONS: Challenging Detroit’s Design Discourse. This bi-monthly lecture series began in June and will continue through the end of 2012.  Each panel discussion will invite local, regional, and national figures to discuss what makes Detroit provocative.  Set in a variety of under-utilized, contested, and historically charged spaces throughout our city, each event seeks to challenge the participants through candid discourse and direct engagement of the built environment.  It is the aim of each panel discussion to explore new urban strategies that promote social equity and advocacy.  We believe good design (and good design discourse) is a proactive and critical act, toeing the line between conflict and resolution.  While each event exists for only a moment, the entire series will provide a lasting catalogue of constructive dialogue, informing Detroit’s shared creative consciousness.

Event 03 DEFIANCE : Disobedient Design.

“My agenda is a dislocation of architecture from the narrow confines of professionalism and its development within an expanded cultural field.” – Jonathon Hill’s essay An Other Architect

In Jonathon Hill’s essay, An Other Architect, he outlines a program for supporting the development of illegal architects: creatives that question and subvert the precedents, codes, and laws of professional architecture. An illegal architect may very well be licensed, but deliberately operates in the “luminal space” at the edge of traditional architectural activity, an interstitial creative practice where architecture can be made of anything, anywhere, anyhow, and by anyone. (more…)

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PARKing DAY DETROIT 2011

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

 

This Friday, rogueHAA will join hundreds from around the world to celebrate Park(ing) Day, a one day event that highlights the need for more livable and vibrant public spaces in our cities.

During last year’s installtion, pavers and sod where placed on a parking spot at the corner of Gratiot and Woodward. Soon, there was a green patch of space, an unusual site especially when one is accustomed to see a car in its place inste…ad. Onlookers were curious. Drivers paused. Parking enforcement stopped, then questioned, and questioned some more, but finally drove off.

This was the idea — to get people to notice, ask questions, and interact. For those that stopped by, they got the message and left with a smile on their faces.

This year’s theme is Urban Beach. Our Woodward beach will be located between Gratio + Grand River. Take off your shoes, dip your toes in the water, and just relax for a moment. 

We will be grilling at the beach from noon until 2pm.  Join our facebook page and mention it at the beach…get a free hotdog. 

For more information on Parking Day: http://parkingday.org/

To view photos of last year’s installation: http://www.roguehaa.com/tag/parking-day/

For additional Detroit PARKing Day Events: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=158018997616431

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CASS PARK SPIT + SHINE

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

Cass Park Spit & Shine. Join us for a morning of site improvements to Cass Park, including weeding, pruning, general maintenance, and furniture assemblage.  Learn about the history of Cass Park.  Stay for a special surprise appearance at the end of the work day.  Following the morning’s activities, lunch will be served to all volunteers.   If you are able to volunteer, please RSVP on the facebook event page or email cassparkdetroit@gmail.com.

Event Details are as follows:

Cass Park (2nd Ave & Temple)
Detroit, MI
Saturday, July 30 | 8am-1pm

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DETROIT PORT AUTHORITY TERMINAL GRAND OPENING

Friday, July 8th, 2011


NOW DOCKING.  Recognizing the potential influence of the cruise industry upon Detroit, the Detroit / Wayne County Port Authority commissioned HAA to design a new 22,000 square foot international ship passenger terminal. Officially opening next week at the foot of Bates Street, between Atwater Street and the Detroit River, The Port Authority Terminal is designed to function as both a domestic and international facility, including associated functions such as customs, border patrol, baggage handling, ticketing, and queuing. The building and dock will accommodate Great Lakes cruise ships, tall ships, and other large vessels, as well as the offices for the Port Authority. 

The Port Authority anticipates this terminal will serve as a port of call for the many cruise vessels that sail the Great Lakes each summer, some providing accommodations for over 400 passengers.   Mid-way through construction, the American Recovery and Reinvestment act provided additional funding for the construction of a wharf and an extension to the building, allowing even larger ships to dock at the facility. 

These cruise lines, tall ships, and vessels will ideally make Detroit one of their premier urban ports, bringing tourists and their dollars directly into downtown Detroit. Detroit will offer a unique counterpoint to other ports of more rural locales.  In this capacity, the terminal serves its most important function; a pristine gateway, welcoming visitors with a gleaming reception and ultimately providing direction to the region’s greatest assets. (more…)

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ANNOUNCING THE “PROVOCATIONS” PROGRAM

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Hamilton Anderson Associates (HAA) is a multi-disciplinary Detroit design firm dedicated to improving the built environment through creative, contemporary design. The counterpart to HAA’s architectural practice is rogueHAA, a design and research studio based in our Detroit office. While HAA focuses on the thoughtful design and construction of buildings and landscapes, rogueHAA operates beyond the traditional practice boundaries to consider post-industrial strategies, branding, media, pop-culture, publishing, the facilitation of design discourse, and the promotion of urban advocacy.

Started in 2008 as an after-hours voluntary design forum, rogueHAA maintains one single goal:  To raise the level of design discourse in Detroit by challenging the public to practice critical, creative thinking.  As architectural advocates, we can provide more for our city’s design community by encouraging creative discourse than through the design and construction of any building type.  We have implemented two complementary efforts that have begun to instigate change within the Detroit community: www.roguehaa.com, an urbanism blog, and lecturesHAA, a multi-topic speaker series.   A third initiative, installationsHAA, is currently being explored by a multi-disciplinary collaborative team.

Our second initiative, lecturesHAA, is dedicated to creating broad, creative discourse through open and collaborative dialogue. Our inaugural lecture program (2009-2010) utilized a common theme: “CHALLENGING DETROIT: (Re)generating Urbanism” and resulted in nine bi-monthly lecture events.  The first six events featured Detroit artists (Design99, Sweet Juniper, Phil Cooley, Craig Wilkens and others) sharing their personal regeneration strategies.  As the events passed, we established quite a following; audiences grew from fifteen to two hundred.  Transitioning to panel discussions, in lieu of single speakers, extended our audience diversity beyond the design community into the community-at-large.  Each event was free, open to the public, and held within a different city space, raising awareness of forgotten sites, and those that illustrated adaptive reuse opportunities. A summary of these nine events can be found on rogueHAA.

lecturesHAA is pleased to announce its 2011/2012 program: “PROVOCATIONS: Challenging Detroit’s Design Discourse”. This bi-monthly lecture series will begin in June and continue through the end of 2012.  Each panel discussion will invite local, regional, and national figures to discuss what makes Detroit provocative.  Set in a variety of under-utilized, contested, and historically charged spaces throughout our city, each event seeks to challenge the participants through candid discourse and direct engagement of the built environment.  It is the aim of each panel discussion to explore new urban strategies that promote social equity and advocacy.  We believe good design (and good design discourse) is a proactive and critical act, toeing the line between conflict and resolution.  While each event exists for only a moment, the entire series will provide a lasting catalogue of constructive dialogue, informing Detroit’s shared creative consciousness. (more…)

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DETROIT’S ART X

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

 

Sunday was the last day of Art X Detroit: Kresge’s five-day multidisciplinary Arts Experience that presented newly commissioned works created by the 2008-2010 Kresge Eminent Artists and Artists Fellows.  A five day artistic celebration that spanned from April 6-10, the program featured dance and musical performances, literary readings, workshops, panel discussions, public art, and special exhibitions.  Located throughout Detroit’s Midtown Cultural Center, the entire event was free and open to the public.  The images above represent only a small portion of the creative pieces seen within one afternoon’s stroll through Detroit art. 

 

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