After decades of dormancy, Wayne State set to restore gem by famed architect

The shallow pool surrounding the Helen L. DeRoy Auditorium will be repaired and refilled with water as part of a $2 million restoration of the modernist-style building in Detroit. If things go as planned, the pool will be operational by the time Wayne State President M. Roy Wilson retires on July 31. Wilson is among many who advocated to restore the major design element of the building."It’s a masterpiece. It's a little tarnished, but we are bringing it back," said architect Ashley Flintoff, Wayne State's director of planning and space management.

Yamasaki created four buildings at Wayne State, including one that helped the Detroit-based architect achieve international acclaim: the McGregor Memorial Conference Center. The McGregor also has a reflecting pool. Like the DeRoy, McGregor's reflecting pool was drained and lay dormant for years because of leakage issues. McGregor's pool was restored in 2013 after a $1.8 million campaign after being empty for about 15 years.

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