page_title: Architecture of metropolitan Detroit
section_title: Contemporary highlights
hierarchical_section_title: Architecture of metropolitan Detroit / Skyscrapers / Contemporary highlights
caption_attribution_description: English: The Detroit International Riverfront. Behind is the Renaissance Center, GM World Headquarters, Detroit, Michigan.
context_page_description: The architecture of metropolitan Detroit continues to attract the attention of architects and preservationists alike. With one of the world's recognizable skylines, Detroit's waterfront panorama shows a variety of architectural styles. The post-modern neogothic spires of One Detroit Center refer to designs of the city's historic Art Deco skyscrapers. Together with the Renaissance Center, they form the city's distinctive skyline.
  Detroit's architecture is recognized as being among the finest in the U.S. Detroit has one of the largest surviving collections of late-19th- and early-20th-century buildings in the U.S. Because of the city's economic difficulties, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has listed many of Detroit's skyscrapers and buildings as some of America's most endangered landmarks.
  The suburbs contain some significant contemporary architecture and several historic estates.
context_section_description: The Detroit area also contains prominent skycrapers designed in the Modern, Postmodern, and Contemporary Modern architectural styles. With the notable exception of the 1001 Woodward (1965) building, Detroit's skyscrapers show less influence by the Chicago school of architecture and are more eastern in character. Minoru Yamasaki designed Detroit's One Woodward Avenue (1962) in the Modern architectural style, following it with his similar, award-winning design for New York City's World Trade Center towers (1973-2001). Today, the city's contemporary skyscrapers stand beside restored historic ones. One Detroit Center (1993) and its neogothic spires is considered a fine example of post modern architecture by architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, referring to Wirt Rowland's historic Penobscot Building (1928), both located in the heart of the Financial District's wireless Internet zone. 
  The office market in Metro Detroit is one of the nation's largest. with 147.88 million square feet (13,739,000 m²). The Renaissance Center, with 5.552 million square feet (515,800 m²), and the Southfield Town Center, with 2.2 million square feet (204,400 m²), are large-scale examples of Contemporary Modern skyscraper complexes. Each mixed-use complex is an interconnected group of skyscrapers termed a "city within a city."
  The construction of the Renaissance Center in Downtown Detroit marked a new era for the city's architecture. In the 1970s, Detroit Renaissance, chaired by Henry Ford II, commissioned highly regarded architect John Portman to design an enormous skyscraper complex called the Renaissance Center in hopes of increasing the attraction of city living for middle and upper-class residents. Some left because of court-ordered busing to integrate schools that were de facto segregated based on residential patterns. Portman had hoped to halt the exodus.
  Portman expanded on his earlier design for the Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta when designing the Renaissance Center in Detroit. He contributed to the popularity of the skyscraper hotel. (See Portman's Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles). In the ensuing decades, the Renaissance Center expanded to join the city's restored historic art deco skyscrapers in forming the current skyline.
  In 1924, Detroit's Book-Cadillac opened as the world's tallest hotel (it is now a re-developed Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel). Completion of the first phase of the Renaissance Center in 1977 restored this distinction to the city. The Renaissance Center's central tower opened with a flagship hotel, the tallest in the world, and a conference center with the world's largest rooftop restaurant. As of 2012 the hotel is Marriott International's largest in the United States, with 1,298 rooms. Though it is no longer the world's tallest hotel, it remains the tallest all-hotel skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere. The Westin hotel and conference center at the Southfield Town Center is across from Lawrence Technological University.
  Stemming the flight of capital from the city proved difficult, however, as the suburban office market continued to grow, notably in Southfield and Troy. The Southfield Town Center, constructed from 1975 to 1989, became easy to recognize with its marque of five golden glass skyscrapers. It attracted tenants in competition with the Renaissance Center as Metro Detroit's office market continued its suburban expansion.
  Portman designed the Renaissance Center with interior spaces, yet secure. It quickly became a symbol of the city of Detroit. In 1996, the Renaissance Center's design changed when General Motors purchased the entire complex for its new headquarters. The $500-million makeover of the complex included a $100-million renovation of the hotel. A new front door Wintergarden (2003) provides waterfront views and expanded retail space. Prior to completion of its renovation in 2003, some had criticized its circular corridors as confusing. Construction of a lighted glass walkway now facilitates ease of navigation encircling the interior mezzanine. A pedestrian-friendly glass entry way has replaced t
caption: The Renaissance Center by John Portman on the International Riverfront, GM Wintergarden by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
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