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Office of the VP for Communications – Keeping alumni and friends connected to U-M

Old buildings, new tricks gallery

Where others see vacant and abandoned buildings, Detroit-based architect/U-M professor Christian Unverzagt sees promise and potential. As design director of M1/DTW, a multidisciplinary firm fusing design and cultural production, Unverzagt is carving a niche in the area of adaptive reuse – that is, recasting and transforming existing spaces. These days, clientele is trending increasingly toward local entrepreneurs – those seeking a creative space in Detroit to launch a new venture or expand an existing business. It’s a mindset Unverzagt readily embraces.

  • Center of Attention

    In reconfiguing the expanded interior of Mills Pharmacy, Unverzagt’s team orchestrated a spatial configuration where the pharmacist is at the heart of the action. “The project wouldn’t have played the same if we had been given an empty lot,” he says.

  • Prescription for Success

    Expanding Mills Pharmacy in suburban Detroit required Unverzagt’s team to design around existing obstacles.

  • Signal-Return

    This letterpress studio and gallery is designed to connect the community to traditional and emergent forms of printing. It also serves as a resource for entrepreneurial artists and designers.

  • Makeover Time

    “Even a hair salon is an active social space that affects many lives on a daily basis,” says Unverzagt of client 6 Salon.

  • In the Studio

    When redesigning Detroit recording studio 54 Sound, Unverzagt sought to use unique materials that had “some authenticity you could connect with” but also were acoustically sound.

  • Take a Meeting

    When converting a loading dock into a meeting space, Unverzagt and his team maximized existing elements. They suspended a 20-foot-long, 5-foot-wide table from the ceiling using a “leftover” hand winch and thick chain.

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