Bedrock contact: Gabrielle Poshadlo |
[email protected] ODA Contacts: Alex Polier |
[email protected] Danielle Mayer |
[email protected] BEDROCK SELECTS ODA AS ARCHITECT FOR BOOK TOWER REHABILITATION Historic site to contain mix of residential, hospitality, retail and office space following more than a decade of vacancy Public invited to tour Book Tower on Sept. 7 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD HIGH RESOLUTION RENDERINGS OF THE COMPLETE PROJECT September 4, 2019 (Detroit, MI) —Bedrock has appointed ODA as Design Architect on Book Tower, the most ambitious adaptive reuse project in in the Detroit-based real estate firm’s portfolio. Known throughout the global architecture community for their innovative work on historically significant renovations like Rotterdam’s POSTKantoor and New York City’s 10 Jay, ODA will apply their expertise to designing a mix of residential, hospitality, retail and office space at the Book Tower. The 486,760 square-foot structure, which was designed by Louis Kemper in 1916 in an Italian Renaissance style, was originally built as an office tower and took a decade to complete. Acquired by Bedrock in 2015, the extensive exterior restoration was recently completed, including the replacement of 2,483 historically-accurate windows and full restoration of the ornamental cornice complete with caryatid statues. A historic art glass skylight will be brought back to its original splendor as part of Bedrock’s work with ODA (see lobby rendering.) “The Book Tower has been an iconic part of Detroit’s skyline for nearly a century, and throughout the meticulous exterior restoration process it became clear we needed to partner with an architect that understands how to leverage modern uses in a way that preserves the unique historic details that has endeared this building to Detroiters for generations,” said Melissa Dittmer, Chief Design Officer at Bedrock.