[animatedmartian]

Gilbert's vision for Hudson's site: One-of-a-kind building
By John Gallagher, Detroit Free Press. March 4, 2015.

In terms of architectural significance, the building that Gilbert plans at the old Hudson's store could rival or exceed anything built in Detroit since the Renaissance Center in the 1970s.


Businessman Dan Gilbert plans to reinvent the now-vacant Hudson's site in downtown Detroit with a uniquely designed building meant to attract attention around the world.

Just how ambitious those plans are can be glimpsed in what an early design for the site shows — a cutting edge glass-and-ceramic design, including a facade that could open in the summer, and a combination of retail, residential and other uses.

Matt Cullen, president and CEO of Gilbert's Rock Ventures, confirmed the images shown in an architecture lecture last month by Gilbert's architects reflect some concepts they like but not a final design.

"I will say that's not the current design," Cullen said. "We're at a stage where we're trying to determine what we're going to build there. ... I can't tell you exactly what we're doing. We're refining it, and we're getting smarter. It will be retail. It will be mixed use, and those are not new factoids."

The general architectural vision is being refined by New York-based SHoP architects, a firm hired by Gilbert in late 2013 to work on the Hudson's site. Gregg Pasquarelli, a principal in the firm, presented the preliminary plans in February during a lecture at the Southern California Institute of Architecture.

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But Cullen emphasized that there is no final programming for what the building would contain, no budget, and no timetable. He said Gilbert's team could make some final choices by the end of this year.

Last week, when asked about the site, Gilbert said, "We definitely plan on building on the Hudson's site, a special type of building. ... We're looking at designs. We keep going back and forth. We keep debating."
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In his Feb. 11 lecture in California, Pasquarelli said the project had just gotten the go-ahead from his client to move ahead from conceptual images to more detailed design plans.

But Cullen said that the design has changed in significant ways since Pasquarelli gave his lecture. For example, he said the current thinking no longer includes a trio of museums that Pasquarelli discussed. Also, Cullen said that residential has been added and that issues such as how the building's retail storefronts would interact with Woodward Avenue still need to be hammered out.

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Screencaps from the linked video in the news article.