Mies van der Rohe's Lafayette Park in

Detroit captured in new photographs

Bridget Cogley | 27 April 2020

11 comments
A modernist housing development in Detroit
designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is captured
in photographs by architect and local resident Julio
Alberto Cedano.
Called Lafayette Park, the project was built by the
German-American architect in 1959 and comprises
two superblocks of differently sized buildings.

Cedano photographed the development, which

marks the largest collection of residential buildings
by Mies van der Rohe, to pay homage to the design.
For four years, he has lived in an apartment in one of
the site's twin Lafayette Towers that scales 22
storeys.

"Living in the Lafayette Towers allows me to

document different moments through changing
seasons, with new palettes of colour reflecting off
the glass facades and providing visual excitement,"
Cedano told Dezeen.
"It's a unique opportunity, like living in an active
museum of Mies buildings."

Lafayette Park encompasses 46 acres (18 hectares)

and includes a variety of buildings, from modernist
high-rise condominium towers and two-story
modular townhomes to single-storey dwellings. The
centre of the site is defined by a greenway and many
trees and plantings are interspersed throughout.
Cedano believes the surrounding natures pairs well
with Mies van der Rohe's structures, which feature
gridded windows, flat roofs and steel facades.

"At Lafayette Park, van der Rohe creates a dramatic

dialogue between architecture and nature," he said.
"The geometry of the grid juxtaposed with the
natural surroundings is awe-inspiring. Nature
creates the space that frames the architecture in
place, allowing the simplicity of its beauty to
radiate."
Mies van der Rohe designed Lafayette Park with
urban planner Ludwig Hilberseimer and landscape
designer Alfred Caldwell on the eastern edge of
Downtown Detroit.

The developer Herb Greenwald previously worked

with the architect on his Chicago apartments at 860-
880 Lake Shore Drive, which was completed in 1951
on the city's lakefront.
Its northern section, which was planned and
partially built by Mies van der Rohe, is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places. It includes
buildings by both Mies van der Rohe and other
architects.

Related story
Geometry of Mies van der
Rohe's Farnsworth House
illuminated with red lasers

Before moving to Detroit, Cedano studied

architecture and urban design at Columbia
University in New York City. He currently works as
an urban designer for the City of Detroit Planning
and Development and uses photography to engage
with architecture.
"As an architect and urban designer, I am constantly
photographing my surroundings, whether with an
iPhone or my digital SLR camera, and I use
photography as a way to observe and understand
light, space and the built environment," he added.

Cedano created the photography series with

architectural historian Jacqueline Taylor, who also
used to live at the complex and work at the Detroit's
city planning department but is now based in Berlin.
"Lafayette Park provides a model for housing that
combines density and diverse housing options with a
respect for nature in an abundance of exterior green
space, where limbs can stretch, lungs can expand,
and minds can feel a sense of freedom," Taylor told
Dezeen.

Mies van der Rohe is considered one of the most

significant architects of the 20th century. Known
simply as Mies, he was the final director of the
Bauhaus school and went on to live in the US and
head the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in
Chicago.
His other projects include Farnsworth House in
Illinois, which was illuminated with red lasers in an
installation by Iker Gil and Luftwerk. The duo has
also created a similar light design for the architect's
Barcelona Pavilion.
Read more: Mies van der Rohe USA Detroit
Michigan Architecture Photography
Residential

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Best Newest Oldest

HeywoodFloyd − ⚑
4 years ago edited

In case anyone was still wondering whether Mies was

better than LC or not!

2 0 Reply ⥅

JZ − ⚑
4 years ago edited

Gorgeous images. Handsome towers in that context.

I'm confused, Dezeen. What is the one-story structure
that leads the article with 2 images? That doesn't
appear to be part of the Lafayette Park complex.

I went on Google maps to see if I was

misunderstanding in the hopes of finding adjacent to
the towers, but I'm still overlooking it. However, I did
discover the construction fencing and advertising for
this project. It will be interesting see how that fleshes
out: https://www.pullmanparc.com

Edit: ah found them, hiding beneath lots of trees!:

https://goo.gl/maps/C84MsyP...

0 0 Reply ⥅

wataclick > JZ − ⚑
4 years ago edited

The one story structure in one of the "courtyard"

townhouses. I grew up in the townhouse my family
moved into on Joliet Place in 1961. My mother, who
is 97, is still there. There are three storey town
houses with common yards. There are also
"courtyard" units that have private walled in yards.
Courtyard units are really two story, as the
basements are fully liveable spaces.

2 0 Reply ⥅

JZ > wataclick − ⚑
4 years ago edited

Congratulations, as well, on your mother being

97! And still in her home. A great blessing!

1 0 Reply ⥅

JZ > wataclick − ⚑
4 years ago edited

Wonderful to have a resident connect here! If

your mother is still there, is it reasonable to
conclude that it's a great place to grow up and
live a long life? I can imagine as the landscape
has matured, it's only gotten better.

1 0 Reply ⥅

wataclick > JZ − ⚑
4 years ago edited

It was a wonderful place to grow up and for my

mother is is a beautiful place to age. There are
only a few of the original families left, but many
the original people who grew up in the park are
still close and in touch. I regularly meet with
friends from the park in the New York area where
I live now and am in touch with the park
"diaspora" if you will. Was just on a Zoom
reunion with three childhood park friends and
two who still live in Detroit last week. I see three
park friends in DC on a regular basis and always
reach out to friend still in Detroit and any friends
or any of our parents who are still living there.

The park lent itself to a very communal lifestyle.

Our parents socialized, we attended the same
elementary school and we had a very pleasant
environment in which to play. The beauty of the
place and its tight community set a standard of
living for many of us that is not to found
anywhere else. It was very nurturing. There are
social political issues and problems related to
how the development came about, which was
ironic because early residents tended to be very
progressive and politically engaged and active...
It was a 10 example of displacement and
gentrification. Nevertheless, for those of us who
grew up in the park it was rather paradisiacal.

3 0 Reply ⥅

JZ > wataclick − ⚑
4 years ago

So great to hear that the impact it had on the

residents was so positive!

0 0 Reply ⥅

Steven S Dornbusch … − ⚑
3 years ago edited

As wataclick shares, it depends, which residents,

the white ironically liberal families, or the less
prosperous Black residents displaced by the
development. This story gets repeated over and
over, around the country. It looks like a lovely
place. I hope to visit some day.

1 0 Reply ⥅

Ann Jones > JZ − ⚑

4 years ago edited

https://detroit.curbed.com/...

0 0 Reply ⥅

JZ > Ann Jones − ⚑

4 years ago edited

Thanks for this Ann! Gorgeous unit! Price seems

a steal if this was in any other second city, but I
suppose given Detroit's woes as of late...

0 0 Reply ⥅

bubba10 − ⚑
4 years ago edited

Not many buildings look so good at 60.

4 0 Reply ⥅

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