A B O V E T H E F O L D 5 1 5 7 S T A N T O N S T R E E T D E T R O I T M I 4 8 2 0 8 3 1 3 - 4 5 8 - 7 3 0 6 W W W . A B O V E T H E - F O L D . C O M

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9/22/2017 Portland Desperately Needs Affordable Housing. These 5 Cities Show a Way Forward. | Portland Monthly

https://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles/2017/9/21/portland-desperately-needs-affordable-housing-these-5-cities-show-a-way-forward 1/21

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7/19/2017 Architect Edwin Chan Adds to Detroit's Flurry of Developments - SURFACE

https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/true-north-edwin-chan-detroit/ 1/3

Architect Edwin Chan Adds to

Detroit's Flurry of Developments

The city’s new live-and-work complex True North promises residents privacy,affordability, and a sense of community.

BY DAVID BASULTO

July 14, 2017

ARCHITECTURE

(Photos: Chris Miele)

SHA

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7/19/2017 Issue 103 - Magazine | Monocle

https://monocle.com/magazine/issues/103/ 1/3

103 May 2017

Design and property special. Inside: bright ideas from Barcelona, a Beirut

chanteuse and the US's new liberal capital.

volume 11< issue 102 issue 104 >

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MONOCLEL

I t’s certainly getting easier to make the argument that Detroit’s glut of vacant land is as much an opportunity as a problem. In the past few years, we’ve seen all kinds of experimental projects take root on vacant lots — from hardwood tree farms and

shipping container homes to an affordable housing tiny house village. Now, add a small community of Quonset huts to that list.

Philip Kafka, a Texan turned New Yorker turned Detroiter, has filled a handful of lots on a mainly empty stretch of Grand River Avenue just west of downtown with a mini-neighborhood of live-work structures that riff on the design of the semicircular, World War II-era steel-frame buildings. They’re minimalist. They’re a little quirky. And apparently, they’re filling some kind of niche (most of the huts landed tenants before the project was even finished). Recently, we chatted with Edwin Chan — the Los Angeles architect who cut his teeth working with

TEN HUTA village of Quonset huts in Core City gains attention as much for the design as its kitsch

BY LOU BLOUIN // PHOTOGRAPHS BY JASON KEEN

Frank Gehry and who designed Kafka’s Quonset hut community — about the promise and challenges of bringing projects like this to Detroit’s neighborhoods.

How did this idea of putting Quonset huts on this site initially hit you?

I think initially, I had reservations about it, because obviously, the Quonset hut is typically associated with army barracks and industrial buildings. So I took it upon myself, and said, well, “What is it going to take to make the huts hospitable and make them a welcoming experience, as opposed to feeling like you’re going to an army camp?” First, if you look at the conventional way that the huts are deployed in an army barracks, they’re generally very repetitive and there’s no scale to it. So that’s one of the reasons why there is diversity and variety in the huts. There are some that are a little lower, some that are a little wider. There’s a three-story [tall] one — there is no other Quonset hut in the world that is three stories

high. And then the second part is they’re placed in a way to define the landscape. What was very interesting about this site is that it’s not very far from downtown, but mentally, you feel like you’re very far away just because there are a lot of empty lots in between. So one of the things I feel really good about is the placement of the huts and the spaces that we sort of created in between the huts. They become like outdoor rooms that are very intimate, private — in a context that is very open.As you mentioned, this is a part of the city that is fairly vacant, but there are still some historic homes and buildings adjacent to the huts. How did you tackle the challenge of integrating them into the surrounding neighborhood?

Well, this is something that architects are con-stantly confronted with. Now some architects might say the way to do is it by copying the neighbor: Like, if you’re going to build in a historic city like Paris, you want to make a building that looks like

24/Seven // A R C H I T E C T U R E

30 HOURDETROIT.COM // JULY 2017

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WINTER 2016

30 YOUNG ARTISTS TO WATCH

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ABOVE THE FOLD is seeking a press & communications intern(s) for Fall/Winter 2018. Founded in 2012, ABOVE THE FOLD has earned a strong reputation for representing visionary clients whose work advances the built environment. The agency attracts and maintains a roster of notable international clients including architecture firms, real estate companies and other disciplines. A selection of press placements may be found on our website. This opportunity is perfect for a current student who enjoys the news/media, progressive design thinking, gaining real-world professional experience and successfully completing short-term projects.

Working closely with the founder & president, Interns will:

• Create press strategies for specific projects and/or clients

• Develop written/visual press releases and preparing press kits

• Identify publications, editors, and/or reporters to pitch

• Pitch various local, national and international media

• Manage a record of pitches and key details• Utilize and update contact database• Interface with clients on an ongoing basis

ABOVE THE FOLD seeks applicants who have:

• A 3.5 GPA or higher• Time to commit to at least 15 hours a week

in a supervised professional setting for a minimum of 14 weeks for 3 credits

• Had at least one internship and/or job in a professional setting

• Strong writing, editing and communication skills

• Showcased excellent networking skills and thrive in a fast-paced, process-oriented environment

• Direct interest in communication, news/media, architecture, cities

• A cell phone and the ability to commute to our headquarters

All qualified candidates encouraged to apply!

Fall/Winter 2018 Internship

Enjoy writing, revising and communicating with others?

Interested in global architecture,

business and cities?

Send cover letter & resume to jp@abovethe-fold.com