John Marshall Finalist in Design Competition

The DIA Plaza and Midtown Cultural Connections design competition seeks to unite twelve cultural and educational institutions, creating a connected cultural district and a town square for the surrounding neighborhoods. Three design teams have been selected as finalists in the competition; one of these team includes John Marshall, PhD, Associate Professor at the Stamps School of Art and Design and the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Additionally, Marshall directs the Stamps School’s MDes in Integrative Design program.

Part of the Agence Ter team, Marshall and Cézanne Charles are co-founders of rootoftwo, a Detroit-area based hybrid design studio. In addition to rootoftwo, the Agence Ter team includes Harley Etienne, Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at U‑M’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning; Akoaki, a Detroit-based architecture and design studio founded by Jean Louis Farges and Anya Sirota, Associate Professor of Architecture at at U‑M’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning; and Transsolar | KlimaEngineering, Germany.

As finalists, the Agence Ter team will study the site and develop proposals, which will be exhibited at the DIA from January 23-April 2, 2019. They will also make public presentations on January 23, 2019 at the DIA. The winning team will be announced in March 2019.

Led by the Detroit Institute of Arts and Midtown Detroit, Inc., the DIA Plaza and Midtown Cultural Connections design competition planning process is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, William Davidson Foundation, and the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation with support from the Boston Consulting Group Detroit Office led by Xavier Mosquet.