Category: Architecture

A salute to DTE Energy

...for the cool reflecting pool in front of their downtown Detroit headquarters, perked up by three contemporary fountains -- and all nicely illuminated at night.

The waterworks in front of their Bagley office tower -- right across Third Street from the new MGM Casino and Hotel -- were part of a significant facelift the utility undertook over the past five or so years, which also included a soaring, all-glass addition that now encapsulates the lobby.

It's all very admirable -- and all a bit thrown to the winds, given the complete absence of foot traffic on Bagley. (Granted, there is some on Third, but those people are making a beeline for the casino.) In an ideal world, these sorts of design amenities should be in high pedestrian-traffic areas, so people can actually enjoy them at a slower pace than whipping by in the car. But what's a utility to do? Its building stands well apart from downtown.

Handling the project were Neumann/Smith Architects in Southfield, who seem to be behind half the cool new buildings around town. Cases in point? The new Ann Arbor YMCA and the Ernst & Young building on Campus Martius (the green-glass one), to name two. Grissim Metz Andriese Associates landscape design worked with N/S on the installation.

An elegant sight at night -- the fountains and reflecting pool in front of the upgraded DTE Energy tower in Detroit. [All photos by ArchBlogger.]

To the designers' credit, the fountains are designed to be comprehensible as you approach from a distance and whiz by at 40 mph. Each fountain "spigot" emerges from a freestanding square steel arch that reaches up maybe 15 feet or so. There are three fountains and arches in close succession, marching along DTE's entryway toward the new lobby facade, and the views -- particularly at night -- can be quite enchanting.

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