2G1/3G4 - ARCH 552 - FALL 2025
KERRYTOWN MANIA
A makeover fever has spread through market renovations that aim to modernize historic infrastructures while boosting their original identity, aesthetics and singularities across the world. This new market mania goes beyond the idea of a mere restoration of an existing building but an opportunity to envision not just a space of commerce but a vibrant neighborhood and a dynamic community hub streghthening urban fabric.
Today, building on the current trend to contest historic marketplaces, this section, Kerrytown Mania, takes advantage of the rich history of the Kerrytown Market located in Ann Arbor. Kerrytown Market - today a vibrant shopping place destination- is rooted in its industrial past, originally known for its working-class trades and lumberyards, built in a complex of three historic brick buildings. Kerrytown Mania will stimulate the persistence of the site’s past, at the time of questioning the future plans of the $21 million proposed reconstruction of its Farmers Market nearby, as part of nearly $150 million worth of potential downtown projects the City will tackle from 2026 to 2035. A framework, in which the students will design a compact addition for the market that doesn't follow a trend of superfluous new construction but considers the uniqueness of reused materials in a more economic way, extending the life of the structures, at the same time advocating for a balanced and hybrid-program model. In a capitalist-driven society, is there still room for shopping at the marketplace? Can we revert our fast shopping habits towards a more unexpected and playful way to do our groceries? Can we change our myopic vision of consumerism and sustainability?