2G1/3G4 - ARCH 552 - FALL 2025
Commerce
In 2025, why do we still have physical markets when services like Amazon and Instacart provide access to and delivery of anything we might call to mind, all at once, almost immediately? In Ann Arbor, for instance, Kroger, Trader Joes, Plum Market, Whole Foods, Meijer, Target, and Costco–to name a few–are all busy “marketing” venues. That said, two of the most beloved are the Ann Arbor Farmers Market in Kerrytown and the Argus Farm Stops, where “commerce” is more than the exchange of commodities. Here we exchange ideas, opinions, and sentiment. These markets draw people to them for access to fresh produce and locally sourced products, but we stay for the experience: seeing and being seen, casual discussions, studying among our friends, talking to real people about the things they produce. “Social intercourse” sustains these older, alternative models.
The Commerce studio takes on the programs of the Farm Stops and the Farmers Market, heightening them with additional opportunities for non-commodity commerce on a site at the intersection of Jackson Ave and Stadium Blvd. Once an important crossroads at the edge of the city, the current condition is dominated by cars and a shopping center. The area has recently been upzoned to allow for much needed new housing and “commercial” spaces. But what of experiential commerce, of the hybrid experiences of a city, the creation of a community, the desired reduction in automobile use? The ample parking lots of the Westgate Shopping Center, existing programs such as a branch of the Ann Arbor Library and a mix of both local and national retail will provide the backdrop for an expansive vision of commerce.