Join us in Detroit this November and see the revitalization of this great city taking shape! 2022 Track highlights are below, full descriptions are on the abstract site.

Due 4 March 2022

Pink Cadillac: The Composite Effect of Building and Industrial Design 

Detroit not only served as an epicenter of the automobile industry, but its citizens also championed industrial design and its intersection with architecture from the early 1920s until the early 1970s. Designers of all professions experimented with new materials and processes, such as concrete mixes, ceramics, plastics, metal alloys, and paints. This track explores the preservation, adaptation, interpretation, and enhancement of “modern” materials (both the historic Modern Movement and the new century’s design advancements) used at all scales around the world. 

Stop! In the Name of Renewal: Adaptive Reuse and Renovation in a Metropolis 

It just can’t be saved. It’s too far damaged. Just tear it down and build back better. This track will focus on the extreme ends of the adaptive reuse spectrum and what challenges building owners, developers, and historic districts must overcome. Like Detroit’s motto, “resurget cineribus,” these buildings shall rise from the ashes. 

The Dire Straits: Challenges, Opportunities, and Innovations within Marine Environments 

Before there were interstates and before there were steel rails, there was the Big Water, the Great Lakes. Settlement patterns and industry developed along the waterways, connecting remote settlements and bringing products to market and to consolidated industrial centers. This track will discuss the challenges of maintaining, preserving, and reusing maritime structures, including material choices and repair alternatives employed in the extreme exposure conditions.  

Dancing in the Street: (R)evolution of a City

The US’s one and only UNESCO Design City, Detroit has shaped the culture of not only the local region, but also the world, and gave inspiration to future artists of the visual, audio, and tactical arts. This track will study how books, music, movies, and social media can influence the culture and use of a building and how buildings will help preserve the story of the artists and local culture.