Media Report
April 30, 2012Detroit Free Press article and photo gallery highlight restoration of McGregor pools at Wayne State
http://www.freep.com/article/20120428/BUSINESS06/204280320/Yamasaki-work-to-be-restored?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs
One of Detroit's most significant works by famed architect Minoru Yamasaki will be restored thanks to a $1.8-million project beginning next month. The work will restore the pools of water and surrounding sculpture garden at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University. The jewel-like McGregor Center has long been considered by many to be among the finest buildings designed by Yamasaki, the Detroit-based architect best known for designing the World Trade Center towers in New York City. The McGregor Center was built in 1958. The pools remained filled with water until the early '80s, when leaks and other functional problems led Wayne State to drain them. The pools have remained empty ever since. The effort to restore them began in 2009, when art and engineering enthusiasts at WSU began to explore ways to do the work. That led to engineering studies and lobbying, and WSU trustees approved the project at a March 21 meeting. Ruhtab Sahota, a staffer for WSU's office of design and construction services, said contractors will begin work around the first week of May. Restoring the pools involves spraying on a polyurea coating to make the structure watertight, as well as planting new trees and making improvements to the walkways around the site. The restoration of the pools at McGregor should be finished by late summer. Yamasaki also designed Wayne State’s DeRoy Auditorium. Photos of the project site are included.
One of Detroit's most significant works by famed architect Minoru Yamasaki will be restored thanks to a $1.8-million project beginning next month. The work will restore the pools of water and surrounding sculpture garden at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University. The jewel-like McGregor Center has long been considered by many to be among the finest buildings designed by Yamasaki, the Detroit-based architect best known for designing the World Trade Center towers in New York City. The McGregor Center was built in 1958. The pools remained filled with water until the early '80s, when leaks and other functional problems led Wayne State to drain them. The pools have remained empty ever since. The effort to restore them began in 2009, when art and engineering enthusiasts at WSU began to explore ways to do the work. That led to engineering studies and lobbying, and WSU trustees approved the project at a March 21 meeting. Ruhtab Sahota, a staffer for WSU's office of design and construction services, said contractors will begin work around the first week of May. Restoring the pools involves spraying on a polyurea coating to make the structure watertight, as well as planting new trees and making improvements to the walkways around the site. The restoration of the pools at McGregor should be finished by late summer. Yamasaki also designed Wayne State’s DeRoy Auditorium. Photos of the project site are included.
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