Constructed between 1956 and 1959, Lafayette Park contains the world’s largest collection of buildings by Mies van der Rohe. Mies team included Ludwig Hilberseimer as the site planner, Alfred Caldwell the landscape architect, and Joseph Fujikawa the chief designer. Also known as the Mies van der Rohe Historic District, it’s comprised of three groups of buildings: The Pavillion, The East and West Towers, and the Town and Court Houses. All of these are placed around an open park called The Plaisance.
Here’s a map showing where things are:
The Pavillion
The Pavillion was the first building constructed in Lafayette Park in 1956. It’s a 22 story high-rise residential building with 1, 2, and 3 bedroom rental apartments that overlook the Town Houses and The Plaisance open park area.
The Town Houses and Court Houses
West of The Plaisance are 162 three-level Town Houses and 24 two-level Court Houses. Owned and operated as a co-op, the homes are have children’s play areas, meadows, and pedestrian pathways. Now fully mature, the landscape designs of Alfred Caldwell provide an unusually lush setting for Mies’ stark structures.
The East and West Lafayette Towers
The twin East and West Towers, on the eastern edge of the Plaisance, are separated by a low garage with a rooftop pool. Like The Pavillion, they are 22 story apartment buildings.
Although outside of the rich architectural goodies in downtown Detroit, if you like modernism it’s definitely worth the effort.
