Prince Concepts

The Study, a life sized “model” to test the Quonset Hut. Built as a construction office for True North and the original Detroit residence for Philip Kafka, the project continues to be a study: in program, space, materials and landscape.

Built on two merged residential lots totaling 5,227 SF of land, The Study is two live/work residences. The project was completed in October of 2016 and took just five months to build.

When we broke ground in June of 2016, this was an area of Detroit that had not seen Earth move since the late 1960s.

Expediency and experimentation were paramount.

Our priority - to test the Quonset Hut as affordable access to inspired space.

We used a traditional semi-circular "Q Hut" for the front unit and a "S Hut," with straight walls, for the back unit. Each unit was about 14' tall.

With both styles, the walls become the roof, then become the walls again. Simple.

The roof, what keeps water out, is also the structure, what holds the building up. We liked this.

When we built the first iteration, we tested plywood and interior stucco. We used the raw concrete slabs, polished, as our finished floors. Then we changed it all.

We included sleeping lofts and played with acoustic panels, peg board and polycarbonate as finished materials. Then we changed it all.

The curved walls, generous volumes, and abundant natural light have inspired a variety of lifestyles at The Study.

Many of our finished details were decided on site, giving the project a truly "hand-made" quality.

This "informal" nature is rare in development work and we attribute the creative spirit that has motivated all of the subsequent work in Core City to the attitude that inspired and completed the Study.

We planted our first trees and then changed the entire landscape.

The result: a project that has evolved over time. From residence to office to photo studio to law office back to residence.

A place for events, a place for meetings, a place to rest and rejuvenate and a place for community gatherings. The two studies have performed.

It's safe to say that the exciting and flexible nature of the two original Studies is the sort of energy that has spurred the creative and informal development of the entire neighborhood.