Masonry Magazine March 1978 Page. 6
MICHIGAN "M AWARD" WINNERS
continued from page 5
According to project architect Lawrence D. Morris, AIA, of T.M.P. Associates, "Masonry was the logical choice to enclose and modulate the geometric pattern of space that was created both externally and internally. Its use in a monolithic form enables the spatial quality of the schools to be quickly understood."
The exterior walls of the schools are loadbearing masonry, meaning that the masonry provides the structural support of the buildings as well as their facades. The exterior walls are 4-inch brick, 2-inch insulated cavity, and 8-inch concrete masonry units. Two of the schools utilize a buff-gray brick, the other a red brick, all with matching mortar.
Inside, the concrete masonry units are painted to provide the finished interior wall. Interior partitions are brick in the lobby areas, painted concrete masonry elsewhere. On the exterior, hollow metal decorative window screens in red, yellow and green are used to accent the buildings.
WEBBER MEMORIAL BUILDING,
HARPER GRACE HOSPITALS
Detroit, Michigan
Architect: Smith, Hinchman & Grylls Associates, Inc.
Mason Contractor: Smith-Santoro, Inc.
Completed in 1977, the Webber Memorial Building of Harper-Grace Hospitals is a 10-story, 670-bed, 629,000-square-foot addition to the existing hospital complex located in the Medical Center area north of downtown Detroit. According to Philip J. Meathe, FAIA, president of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, "One of our planning and design goals was to mass the new structure in such a manner that its volume would complement and maintain the scale of the existing buildings, which were built between 1884 and 1927. To meet this objective, while also achieving warmth and human scale, we selected brick masonry as the dominant exterior material."
In addition to the 670 beds for nursing and intensive-care patients the building houses education and research areas, a medical library, the Kresge Eye Institute, and a ground-level area for diagnostic and surgical services that extends outside the building into a raised entry plaza.
A brown, earth-tone modular brick unit, with color-matched mortar, was used for the exterior walls and for several partitions and columns inside the building. In many areas, the exterior brick are backed up with 8-inch concrete masonry units.
6 MASONRY/MARCH, 1978
For reasons of energy conservation and maintenance, window openings are held to a minimum and recessed. Brick panels around the windows also are inset behind the brick-clad building facade. Special brick shapes are used in splayed sills beneath the windows to visually reinforce the openings. Other masonry design details include cantilevered entrance canopies and sloping exterior berm walls.
601 WASHINGTON BOULEVARD BUILDING
Detroit, Michigan
Architect: Rossetti Associates/Architects Planners
Mason Contractor: Cavanaugh & Soave, Inc.
This recycled building represents an example of adaptive use. The architectural planning firm of Rossetti Associates had outgrown its leased space in downtown Detroit, but decided to remain in the central city.
"We found an existing three-story, 23,000-square-foot, 70-year-old warehouse which had been vacant more than eight years," commented Gino Rossetti, FAIA, the firm's president. "Rather than tear it down, we saw an opportunity to demonstrate what can be done to restore an old, disregarded building, while reflecting our design philosophy and emphasizing our commitment to and continued confidence in Detroit." The building is at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Congress, just north of Cobo Hall.
The original building consisted of masonry bearing walls and a timber and steel interior structure. Inside the brick was sandblasted, restoring it to its natural condition, and then highlighted with exposed filament showcase bulbs. Since the exterior was in poor condition, it was covered with new brick.
"We decided to stay with masonry because of its warmth and sculptural qualities," Rossetti said. A brown modular brick was selected. Masonry design features include the articulation of the building's stair and elevator towers, a landscape wall in the small city park that adjoins the site, and the building entrance where harmonizing brick pavers extend across the corner of the park and into the first-floor lobby. The restoration project was completed in April, 1975.