El Moore

[Detroitdave]

Pretty close to perfect.

Discuss...

http://www.mlive.com/business/detroi...art_river_home

[bust]

Awesome all around. Shows how a smart plan and creativity can profitably rehabilitate what many would have said was unsalvageable. Congratulations to the developers! Would love to see a lot more like this.

[stromberg2]

Wow!!!! Just wow!

Stromberg2..booking a night real soon

[mikeg19]

That's pretty incredible. What a fantastic job by the developer.

[313rd]

Job well done!

[p69rrh51]

Totally FUCKED up a fabulous building. The unsympathetic piece of shit additions completely ruin what was one of the most beautiful apartment buildings in the in the city!

[Zacha341]

Eh, tell us how you really feel P! Just joking : ) You know building rehab varies in outcome. Still I am happy to see not another parking lot or an empty building with the potential bad things happening within or around!

[MSUguy]

It's nice to see the building occupied, but the addition of telehe vator which was not shown in the mlive story really did mar the building.

https://goo.gl/maps/TCSPKNxUDoD2

[eliboyer]

It's nice to see the building occupied, but the addition of telehe vator which was not shown in the mlive story really did mar the building.

https://goo.gl/maps/TCSPKNxUDoD2

It was shown in multiple mlive photos from different angles. Given what it contributed to the property, I don't mind it.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

It was shown in multiple mlive photos from different angles. Given what it contributed to the property, I don't mind it.

Yes, at least in pics 41 and 47. And I'd say it looks better finished than in the "in progress" street view pics.

I actually don't mind it or the additions on top. I am not sure that a faux-version to blend in would have been successful.

[michmina]

Totally FUCKED up a fabulous building. The unsympathetic piece of shit additions completely ruin what was one of the most beautiful apartment buildings in the in the city!

I think there are choices that need to be made in situations like this. The owners are trying to have a profitable venture, and in order to attract visitors and residents, some modernization needed to happen. An elevator in a building with that many floors simply has to be put in. Modern furnishings and amenities are necessary to attract the kind of people they need to in order to turn a profit.

[SpartanDawg]

It's nice to see the building occupied, but the addition of telehe vator which was not shown in the mlive story really did mar the building.

https://goo.gl/maps/TCSPKNxUDoD2

here's the actual updated street view.. you linked to an old one for some reason?? it looks fine... p69 needs to RELAX.. god forbid they had to add an elevator to make the building frickin profitable and up to modern day fire codes...

some of you people on here are maniacs with bitching about preservation ... this is literally a PERFECT project.. they knocked it out of the park..

BUT NOOOO THEY ADDED AN ELEVATOR SHIFT HOW DISRESPECTFUL MODERN DAY PIECE OF TRASH WHERE'S ALBERT KAHN HURRRR

[p69rrh51]

here's the actual updated street view.. you linked to an old one for some reason?? it looks fine... p69 needs to RELAX.. god forbid they had to add an elevator to make the building frickin profitable and up to modern day fire codes...

some of you people on here are maniacs with bitching about preservation ... this is literally a PERFECT project.. they knocked it out of the park..

BUT NOOOO THEY ADDED AN ELEVATOR SHIFT HOW DISRESPECTFUL MODERN DAY PIECE OF TRASH WHERE'S ALBERT KAHN HURRRR

GET OVER YOURSELF you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about! The elevator could have been installed without the overpowering appendage. In fact it could have been done so well it would have looked original to the building not a monument to the idiot designer who in a drug induced stupor came up with the piece of junk.

[Detroitdave]

Also, I'm sure it has to pass current handicap laws

[3WC]

One of the great attributes of this forum is that everybody has an opportunity to present his or her views, whether those views are asserted with profanity and/or atrocious grammar.

p69 speaks as if he knows what he's [[she's?) talking about when it comes to architecture, adaptive reuse, and by implication, the brutal economics of urban redevelopment. Of course, another attribute of the forum is that we all speak without identifying ourselves and our backgrounds and therefore we have to judge the intelligence, knowledge, and judgement of the poster by the contents of the post alone.

I agree with the comments by michmina and SpartanDawg, who in my opinion have much more credibility when it comes critiquing such projects.

Personally, I think the developers did a great job. Kudos.

[Jimaz]

Maybe a muralist could at least try to paint the elevator shaft in such a way that it blends in better with the original building from a distance?

True, not the best solution but it would help.

I think there was an older thread on this.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

On a somewhat related note, Rainer Court is down the street and it shaping up nicely. Getting rid of the prior tacky replacement windows and using more appropriate ones always makes a world of difference.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3481...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3481...7i13312!8i6656

[michmina]

Maybe a muralist could at least try to paint the elevator shaft in such a way that it blends in better with the original building from a distance?

True, not the best solution but it would help.

I think there was an older thread on this.

I would agree, and I think they'll probably receive enough feedback that will lead them to do a repaint that would help it blend in more.

The elevator shaft isn't ideal - I'd certainly say that. I also understand that designing it to better blend and perhaps bricking the exterior would be cost-prohibitive.

[hybridy]

here's the actual updated street view.. you linked to an old one for some reason?? it looks fine... p69 needs to RELAX.. god forbid they had to add an elevator to make the building frickin profitable and up to modern day fire codes...

some of you people on here are maniacs with bitching about preservation ... this is literally a PERFECT project.. they knocked it out of the park..

BUT NOOOO THEY ADDED AN ELEVATOR SHIFT HOW DISRESPECTFUL MODERN DAY PIECE OF TRASH WHERE'S ALBERT KAHN HURRRR

I have no opinion of the elevator tower addition. it shouldn't look historic...
the Secretary of Interior provides guidance for such a situation:
http://www.nps.gov/tps/standards/reh...ehab/stand.htm
the DIA addition by Graves is a nice example of the above condition. I like the greenhouse though

9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.
10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

[RickBeall]

They probably just didn't have the funds to do any better with the elevator shaft. It sort of looks like "the building next door". It looks rather unconnected.

But with that said, the building had not been inhabited in 20 years and it was saved. Hurrah! And I would love to spend the night in one of these serene upper apartments.

[swingline]

I have no opinion of the elevator tower addition. it shouldn't look historic...
the Secretary of Interior provides guidance for such a situation:
http://www.nps.gov/tps/standards/reh...ehab/stand.htm
the DIA addition by Graves is a nice example of the above condition. I like the greenhouse though

9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.
10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

Hybridy makes a great point about the Sec. of Interior standards. The standards strongly discourage trying to make additions look like they're original to the structure. [[I don't think that the El Moore is in a historic district though so the owners were not legally bound to follow the Sec. of Interior standards.)

The elevator addition has provoked the most comments. My inner armchair architect would have softened the massing with some sort of minimalist cornice. Maybe a little more texture to the face brick as an homage to the existing masonry would've helped. Just one person's opinion though.

The El Moore is an incredibly creative and original project. Quite an accomplishment from the Brennans and their team.

[Zacha341]

Hurrah! An occupied building in the city, where it could be an abandoned hulk, no windows, wide open with a dead body inside.

So glad the El Moore was rehabbed. Works for me!

[Zacha341]

Older thread which shows the progress/ and rehab of the building:

http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...ighlight=moore

[michmina]

Hurrah! An occupied building in the city, where it could be an abandoned hulk, no windows, wide open with a dead body inside.

So glad the El Moore was rehabbed. Works for me!

At the end of the day, I have to agree. It wasn't demolished, there are WONDERFUL original things about the interior that were kept - it's a beautiful place. The elevator portion is something I can live with.

[gnome]

Totally FUCKED up a fabulous building. The unsympathetic piece of shit additions completely ruin what was one of the most beautiful apartment buildings in the in the city!

I took a look-see the other day after looking at this thread. You are right, or at least half right.

In person the elevator addition looks goofy and completely out of place. Like that bed-pan/space ship affixed to Soldiers Field in Chicago.

Now I do believe that if you can't match something exactly one should contrast. That goes for attire or paint colors. I am confident it would have been impossible to exactly match the stone of the El Moore even if they could find a donor Romanesque building built 100 years ago.

But it appears they sort of tried to match but didn't.

On balance, the building is a huge move in the right direction. That place was a wreck and I felt it never could have been brought back to life. The Green Garage folks that made this happen deserve a tip of the hat for raising the dead. This project coupled with the Ransom Gillis house and others give credence to the preservation movement.

But that elevator shaft looks out of place.