112 Edmund is a five story mixed-use retail and residential building situated on the John R commercial corridor in the Brush Park Neighborhood of Detroit. This development looks to bring density and activity back to a once activated city corner in a quickly changing and historically rich neighborhood.

Detroit’s population peaked at 1.85 million in 1950. A 2015 U.S. Census notes that number to be about 680,000. Some of the contributing factors to the decline was an over-reliance upon a single industry, the rise of the suburbs, racist housing practices, and the construction during 1950s and 1960s of I-75 and I-375 freeways. Three years after the City emerged from the largest declared bankruptcy in municipal history, signs point to a resurgence.

A horizontal brick clad podium subtly separates program uses as it folds back from the street and stitches together an historic palette. Re-imagined these materials in a contemporary way allows elements of continuity throughout the design. The mass of the building holds together as one object, one that is thoughtfully molded to give deference to its context and maintain a visual connection to the neighboring Lucien Moore. A regular, repeating window pattern is balanced by a dynamic facade that pulls inward and allows for a level 2 residential terrace. A green roof and amenity deck give solar relief to the building and offset the flow of water entering the city’s storm sewer system, reducing water runoff through transpiration.