The Bureau of Emergent Urbanity is an experiment in design, operating on the premise that architecture can—and should—serve as a conduit for collaboration, experimentation, and meaningful engagement with local communities. Set inside a former barber shop, the bureau functioned less as a traditional office and more as a gathering point for architects, artists, builders, and residents—an open invitation to participate in the early stages of a broader urban project. Here, design was not imposed from above but developed through dialogue, through the very act of inhabiting the space together.
The bureau itself was a modest renovation, assembled from simple materials, yet it became a symbol of something more ambitious: the idea that architecture must be democratic, shaped by the people who use it. For 18 months, this converted storefront, with its barber chairs and mirrors left intact, remained open to the neighborhood. It hosted dozens of events—discussions, exhibits, pop-up shops, experiments—while gathering stories that illuminated the creative and cultural pulse of the area. The space, offered freely to residents, became a site for community meetings and cultural programming, a place where the boundaries between architecture and civic life were deliberately blurred.
2014-2015
North End Detroit
Scale:
800 SF
Funding Grants:
ArtPlace America
Community Partners:
Oakland Avenue Artists Coalition
Principals:
Anya Sirota, Jean Louis Farges
Design Team:
Matthew Story, Annelise Heeringa
Production Team:
Eric Howard, Karen Harris, Eiji Jimbo, Rachel Mulder, Missy Ablin, Allen Gillers
Publications:
Water Management for a Productive Landscape
Water Booklet Detroit