August 27, 2014
Detroit Future City (DFC) Implementation Office hosted the Packard Plant “Reanimate the Ruins” International Design Competition Exhibition on Friday, August 8. The competition was created and led by Parallel Projections and brought together over 200 submissions from 30 countries (including schemes from the Detroit area) to describe a new vision for the storied plant’s future. DFC hosted a review of the submissions and a public exhibition.
Dan Kinkead, DFC Director of Projects, who brought the event to DFC and contributed to the review process, said “the range of submissions reviewed and displayed paint a broad picture of potential futures for the Packard. These competitions are not intended to describe bona fide redevelopment schemes, but instead they assert strong design concepts to stimulate thought and discussion, and to prompt new ways of thinking.”
The Packard Plant was acquired by investor Fernando Palazuelo earlier this year through the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office Auction, and Kari Smith, his Project Manager for the Packard’s redevelopment, was present to review the submissions. In this case, the competition also works to fulfill important objectives of the DFC Strategic Framework.