Ally Detroit Center

skyscraper
postmodernism
MI
Detroit

About the Ally Detroit Center in Detroit
1. Prizes & Awards
Architect and team
Architectural style
Spaces and uses
Structure and materials

The Ally Detroit Center is a Postmodernist skyscraper designed by Johnson/Burgee Architects, in association with Kendall/Heaton Associates, and built between 1991 and 1993 in Detroit, MI.

Ally Detroit Center is not the only name you might know this building by though. It is common for companies to want to attach their names to iconic buildings when they move in, or for the general public to come up with nicknames, and this one is no exception. The building has changed names several times over the years, and is also known as:

One Detroit Center between 2012 and 2015.
Comerica Tower between 1993 and 2012.

Its precise street address is 500 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI. You can also find it on the map here.

In 1996 the Ally Detroit Center was awarded with the Construction and Design Award For Excellence.

Building's timeline

Construction begins

1991

Comerica Tower

1993

One Detroit Center

2012

years ago

2024

Architect and team

Johnson/Burgee Architects was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design, in association with Kendall/Heaton Associates.

Johnson/Burgee Architects was a prominent American architectural firm founded in 1968 by renowned architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee.

Philip Johnson was initially one of the greatest advocates for the International Style. However, by the late 1960s, he began questioning the constraints of this style and started leaning towards Postmodernism.

It was particularly during his partnership with John Burgee that Johnson explored more expressive, historical, and often whimsical designs, reflecting the evolving architectural landscape of the 1970s and 1980s.

Johnson/Burgee Architects was a leader in redefining corporate architecture in the late 20th century. The firm became known for its influential role in the Postmodern architecture movement and gained recognition for its innovative and bold designs, often characterized by classical references, bold forms, and a departure from the minimalist principles of Modernism.

However, the partnership between Johnson and Burgee began to unravel in the late 1980s as they started to disagree on management and creative directions. The firm’s financial difficulties escalated, and it ultimately declared bankruptcy in 1991, with Burgee suing Johnson for financial mismanagement.

That being said, architecture is a complex discipline involving many professionals from different fields, without whom this building would have not been possible. We will surely be leaving out a lot of names here, but here is a list of the people we do know also played their part in making the Ally Detroit Center a reality:

Walbridge Aldinger Company as the Main Contractor
Hines Interests Limited Partnership as the Main Developer

Architectural Style

The Ally Detroit Center can be categorized as a Postmodernist building.

Postmodernism in architecture emerged in the United States during the late 1960s as a reaction against the starkness of the International Style, which part of the new generation of architects argued was too impersonal, sterile, and disconnected from historical and cultural contexts.

Postmodernism challenged the International Style's austerity by reintroducing historical elements and ornamentation, although this time not as literally as in the Neo-Classic buildings. Instead, they reinterpreted them within the context of modern materials and construction techniques.

Postmodern buildings often feature bold, contrasting colors, unconventional forms, and a playful blend of various architectural elements from different eras and cultures.

In the United States, Postmodernism was not just an aesthetic choice but also a philosophical stance. It represented a democratization of design, where architects sought to create buildings that were accessible and meaningful to a broader range of people, not just designers and intellectuals.

The Ally Detroit Center was completed in 1993. By 1993 the Postmodernism movement was experiencing a transition. Critics argued that Postmodernism, initially a rebellious and innovative style, had become formulaic and commercialized, and so the trend started moving away from blending historical styles, irony, and playful ornamentation, and begun to give way to emerging architectural trends concerned with more present matters such as technology, ecology or sustainability.

The Ally Detroit Center was kind of late to Postmodernist movement, which in some ways might make it seem older than it really is.

Spaces & Uses

The Ally Detroit Center reaches an architectural height of 607ft (185m), 620ft (189m) if you count the antenna, with the last accesible floor being 577ft (176m) off the gorund. It has a total of 45 floors, 43 above ground and 2 basements, served by 22 elevators.

In regards to parking space, the building has a total of 2070 spots available, which roughly equals 48 spots per floor (above ground).

620ft (189m)

607ft (185m)

577ft (176m)

2 basements

Materials & Structure

The Ally Detroit Center uses a frame structure made of steel columns and steel and concrete slabs.

A frame structure uses a combination of beams and columns to sustain the building's weight. The walls in this case are non-load bearing, which allows for more flexibility when distributing the interior spaces.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features white granite and dark-tinted glass windows. The rounded corners designed by Philip Johnson for Comerica Tower convey a sense of gentleness, unlike the right-angled corners of all other downtown skyscrapers.

The building is crowned by a gabled roof topped with Flemish-inspired neo-Gothic spires on each of its four facades .

Sources

en.wikipedia.org
web.archive.org
www.bedrockdetroit.com
www.loopnet.com
www.hines.com
img.newspapers.com
www.newspapers.com