Connecting the dots

Residential Architect, July, 2002 by Shelley D. Hutchins

Architect Michael Poris of Detroit-based McIntosh Poris Associates wanted to draw attention to urban renewal, showcase one if his favorite artists, and have fun all at once.

How did he do it? He purchased a 60-year-old house in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham, Mich. Then, to ease the neighbors' fear of change and to focus attention on Detroit's blighted buildings, Poris threw a painting party with friend and artist Tyree Guyton. "It's a common practice in some parts of the world to decorate a building before you destroy it," says Pods. "Tyree had done a similar project with abandoned homes downtown, and I asked him to bring the concept to the suburbs."

One sunny day last July, Guyton, Poris, and about 30 artists, students, and neighbors adorned the "Polka Dot House." Upon completion and until its demise, the painted lady drew thousands of visitors--so many that Detroit's Museum of New Art will hold an exhibit and auction this fall of photographs of the house and portions of its painted walls.

A $1 million contemporary Craftsman-style residence now stands in place of the Polka Dot House. Meanwhile, McIntosh Poris continues its beautification campaign in downtown Detroit with several projects on the boards, including the design of 100 low-income townhouses and a loft conversion of the abandoned Eureka Vacuum headquarters.