HOUSE+
Commercial Adaptive Reuse + Pocket Park
Little Village, Detroit
Client: Library Street Collective
Size:
2,205 SF
House+ is the adaptive reuse and addition of a 1910s residence into a commercial storefront and native-planted, corner park called Pocket Park.
Nestled in the heart of Little Village, House+ tells a story about its past, while looking to its future. The image of the existing house is preserved along the traditionally residential street edge of the project, nodding to the past use as a single-family worker’s home. A shed structure addition and truss-trellis “wing” creates a new front, and reorients the project towards the Kerchevel business corridor. An oversized wrap-around porch creates a public gathering space, and Pocket Park provides a 3rd space for folks to gather in the neighborhood.
Together, House+ and Pocket Park explore plants, people and environments mingling and enjoying each other's company. The interconnectedness of life and nature is celebrated and on display through material preservation and reuse, regenerative material selection and sustainable landscapes. The cantilever gutter above the cedar deck collects rainwater for the outdoor garden, supporting the native plants that attract both people and bugs to the site. The sidewalk is wavy, giving enough room for tree roots to establish. The addition is made of plants and upcycled materials: southern pine framing, cedar cladding, cork flooring and blue jean insulation.