LANTERN (9301 Kercheval)

Team：OMA
Size：2072 ㎡   
Location：Detroit, USA

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Feature：

Project - OMA's first foray into Detroit, LANTERN, has transformed a dilapidated commercial bakery into a luminous mixed-use art hub in the city's Little Village neighborhood. Led by partner Jason Long, the 2,072 square meter complex adeptly reinvents the early 20th century warehouse, turning spaces of disrepair into architectural virtues. The building's former state of ruin, with sections of roof and walls missing, becomes the project's driving concept. OMA capitalizes on these voids by inserting a 2,000 square meter courtyard at the heart of the complex, serving as a vibrant public gateway and community condenser. This central outdoor space provides the primary entrance and frontage for all tenants including two local arts nonprofits - Signal-Return and Progressive Arts Studio Collective. Embracing an "open city" ethos, the design strings together various programs to maximize accessibility and interaction. Production zones and studios animate the Amity Street facade, while galleries line the courtyard reinforcing its public significance. Retail and community amenities consolidate along busy Kercheval Avenue, blending interior functions with streetlife. With raw industrial aesthetics and clever adaptive reuse strategies, LANTERN exemplifies an ingenious new arts anchor for Detroit's resurging creative fabric.

 

Design Team - Founded in 1975 by Rem Koolhaas, OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) has evolved into a leading international architectural practice renowned for its avant-garde designs and theoretical explorations. Headquartered in Rotterdam, with offices in New York, Hong Kong, and Australia, OMA operates at the vanguard of architecture and urbanism. Under the leadership of eight partners – Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon, Shohei Shigematsu, Iyad Alsaka, Chris van Duijn, Jason Long, and Managing Partner-Architect David Gianotten – OMA has garnered global acclaim for pioneering buildings that transcend conventional typologies. The firm's oeuvre encompasses a diverse array of architectural scales and programs, from cultural institutions and mixed-use developments to urban masterplans and infrastructural projects. OMA's repertoire is punctuated by iconic works such as the Seattle Central Library, CCTV Headquarters in Beijing, Fondazione Prada in Milan, and the Taipei Performing Arts Centre. With a critical approach that challenges disciplinary boundaries, OMA continuously redefines architectural discourse through built form and scholarly research undertaken by its think-tank AMO. As vanguards of architectural innovation, OMA's multidisciplinary practice continually shapes the discourse on the built environment's evolution.