East Vernor Townhouses

Detroit, Michigan

Client

PoliKov Development, LLC

Role

Design Architect

Type

New Construction

Program

Residential

About the Project

DFA designed the East Vernor Townhouses as a Contemporary Mixed-Use Residential Community for Detroit. Detroit is a great American city that has seen a dramatic amount of change in the last century. The East Vernor Townhouses, located a mile outside of downtown Detroit and next to the quickly redeveloping neighborhood of Eastern Market, allowed DFA an opportunity to reintroduce much needed housing into the community, while maintaining the industrial history and architectural language of the area.
The site consists of a whole block in North East Detroit. Our approach was to split the block in half and create a central alley to be used as a private park and gathering space while providing circulation for cars to enter the private garages in each residence. Houses are separated by large shared walls which add variation to the overall composition and allow houses to shear, moving forward or backwards from each other. These shared walls also allow for privacy between houses without separating them from the street and urban context. Residences are each two stories and all contain a front yard, and terraces on the second level. These houses can be single residences with 2 or 3 bedrooms or they can be split into two single bedroom apartments. The overall impression of the development is of modern industrial simplicity and logic. Houses all work together to create a perfectly cohesive neighborhood without becoming monotonous. Each home retains it’s individuality and connection to the outside world.