Pixelgawker

A couple years ago, I had the opportunity to spend significant time in the Netherlands visiting design studios and spaces throughout the country. As part of the international graphic design summer program entitled deprogram, I traveled with a group of faculty, students and professionals while working alongside local designers. I soon gained an appreciation for a culture that values design, understands its role in society and recognizes it as a strategic tool for communication and economic development. Just like the Netherlands, Michigan has a rich history of design innovation. But unlike the Netherlands, Michigan has forgotten how to leverage the power of design to help rebuild Detroit’s ailing economy.

One of the locations I visited during my last trip was Kinetisch Noord located at the former ship dock, NDSM Wharf. Once the home of Holland’s shipbuilding dockyards, Noord Amsterdam fell on hard times with the decline in the shipping industry during the 1970s. After sitting dormant for many years and becoming a breeding ground for criminal activity, a group comprised of artists, designers, architects and thespians approached the city council about redeveloping the area. In 1999, the city recognized this space and the creative industry as a integral component of the economy and approved the renovation of the area. Sounding eerily similar to the needs of Detroit, I was instantly drawn in by the vision and amazed with the results. The wharf is a massive complex (larger than 10 football fields) that now contains: design and art studios, exhibition spaces, music and performance halls, music studios, gardens, cafes, restaurants in addition to a skate park, hip hop school, library and an alternative energy gas station.

The project was funded with a combination of 10 million euro provided by the Dutch government and the Amsterdam Broedplaats Funds (a local source of finance for affordable workplaces) and 3 million given directly from the residents that occupy the space. All the money raised was used only for the exterior of the Wharf, the residents were and still are responsible for everything inside.

The philosophy behind the Kinetisch Noord is what the organization refers to as  “Stad als Casco” which translates “City as a Hull.” In other words, given a protective shell or exterior, the residents will survive and flourish inside. This alternative building/planning strategy refers to the resident’s responsibility for development and financing of the interior. The responsibility for designing and developing the individual studio spaces belongs to the end-users, the creative entrepreneurs themselves. Residents can decide what the quality and costs are for their individual work spaces. This flexible model encourages more creatives to populate the space because they have a say in how much they spend and what they spend it on. As for shared costs required to maintain the building, additional funds are raised through festivals and cultural activities hosted on site.

In comparison to a traditional incubator model that we in the States might be familiar with, there is no obligation for residents to leave the site after a certain length of time. Interestingly enough, there is a high degree of movement because residents are not allowed to rent extra space once they grow, forcing them to move out of the site and make way for new entrepreneurs.

This innovative finance model works on many levels. First, the government gets their investment back in the form of a stronger tax base. With the influx of residents and the support services needed to sustain activity, the area develops itself. Second, the residents control the space thereby absorbing some of the development costs and eliminating outside fees. If a managing organization or developer carries the financial burden of building without the involvement of the residents, the burden of debt is swallowed up by saiddeveloper, thereby setting up the typical landlord/tenant relationship. Substantial rent then becomes a necessary reality that inhibits the growth of small businesses and organizations thus curbing any kind of creative class development. With the residents in control of the space, they are directly responsible for it’s upkeep and management. With the opportunity to be vested in the building  the residents inherently work harder to make it succeed. And most importantly, the space accommodates their needs and work habits which leads to increased productivity and pride in ownership.

So the question I ask is: can this model work in Detroit? We have plenty of space, abandoned factories and car plants that are in a seemingly state of disrepair. Looking around the Detroit landscape it won’t take you long to find the Packard plant or abandoned facility that could be retrofitted for a project like the NDSM Wharf. The issue, of course, is funding. With a cash-strapped city and state, resources are tight and government, schools and businesses are battling to keep the necessary resources while cutting budgets. In my last article, I mention stimulus money as an alternative funding source that could be used more creatively. But beyond federal dollars, just like Amsterdam Broedplaats we have a multitude of foundations in SE Michigan that specialize in funding creative developments. The new CCS Taubman Center is a perfect example of utilizing creative funding. The Hudson-Webber Foundation, Business Leaders for Michigan and the Kresge Foundation are just a small sample of organizations that, given the right motivations, could be leveraged to make creative urban rehabilitation a reality.

This type of project is highly applicable to the problem that city of Detroit faces. Rehabbing the old factories scattered across the Detroit landscape is too difficult because the city or the regional foundations would have to foot the entire bill then recoup the expenses by charging rent to help sustain their bottom line. By putting the interior development in the hands of the residents, cost becomes less of a factor. It becomes an affordable alternative working model that promotes economic growth and creative community. Everyone wins. The government gets a tax base, the residents get affordable workspace and access to a vibrant art and design community. As a result, the surrounding area is immediately impacted by the influx of creative entrepreneurs looking for a unique place to live and work. Proximity develops relationships because entrepreneurs work alongside each other and, naturally, seek advice and support from each other.

This concept is not completely foreign to our area. As this series continue, I will focus on cooperative models that exist in our own backyard. Located just north of downtown Detroit is the Russell Industrial Center, a former factory turned creative space. The R.I.C is a great example of local sustainable rehabbing that offers the creative class an affordable place to work and exhibit their work.

This entry is filed under these . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.