{"id":395138,"date":"2026-01-06T10:46:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T10:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/395138\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T10:46:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T10:46:42","slug":"adjaye-associates-creates-a-pavilion-like-basketball-court-for-detroit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/395138\/","title":{"rendered":"Adjaye Associates creates a pavilion-like basketball court for Detroit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

A historic 22-acre makeover along the Detroit Riverfront, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park redefines the city’s relationship with its waterfront. The location, which was formerly an abandoned industrial site, has been transformed into a thriving public park that acts as a new municipal link between Detroit and the river.<\/p>\n

The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy held an international competition to choose Adjaye Associates<\/a> and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates<\/a> (MVVA) to lead the redevelopment.<\/p>\n

The final design was created by a thorough community participation process after the victory to guarantee that the park captures the essence of Detroit and its citizens.<\/p>\n

The program of the project includes a new waterfront park with comfort stations, pavilions for recreation and gathering, and plazas, promenades, gardens, and lawns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW at dusk Concrete<\/p>\n

The landscape design of MVVA produces a resilient, year-round environment that honors nature, outdoor leisure, and social interaction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To promote year-round use and sustainability, their proposal incorporates play areas, flexible lawns, and green infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The park’s civic presence is anchored by the architectural efforts of Adjaye Associates. The William Davidson Sport House provides year-round recreation and shelter. It is a stunning building with a full-size basketball court <\/a>under a sculpted concrete canopy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW at dusk Detail of supports<\/p>\n

“The concept prioritizes adaptable spaces and future growth of the area, while enhancing connections between the city, park, and community throughout the evolution of the area,” said David Adjaye.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adjaye Associates <\/a>also built two comfort pavilions that offer adaptable community spaces and bathrooms. The main pavilion can change between open-air and enclosed configurations to meet programmatic and seasonal needs thanks to its flexible enclosure system.<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW at dusk inside basketball court<\/p>\n

When combined, these interventions create the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. As a popular tourist destination, Centennial Park creates a welcoming area that re-establishes Detroiters’ connection to the riverfront’s natural beauty.<\/p>\n

The William Davidson Sport House is a 28,000-square-foot (260-square-metre) pavilion with a sculptural concrete roof supported by 33 steel columns and a large, roughly 2,000-square-foot (186-square-metre) skylight on top.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The versatile indoor\/outdoor pavilion, which has a full-size Detroit Pistons basketball court that is open day and night throughout the year, is flooded with natural light.<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW at dusk inside basketball court<\/p>\n

Following an extended period of public engagement, the final plan was created. nearly 800 people attended six significant public gatherings between 2018 and 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition, outreach initiatives like school programs, block club meetings, and exhibitions throughout the city reached nearly 5,000 inhabitants overall.<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW at dusk inside basketball court<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW at dusk inside basketball court<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

Image \u00a9\u00a0Jaeyual Lee<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW Park basketball court exterior. Image \u00a9 Jaeyual Lee<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW Park basketball court inside. Image \u00a9 Jaeyual Lee<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW drone shot. Image \u00a9 John d Angelo<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW drone shot. Image \u00a9 John d Angelo<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW inside basketball court. Image \u00a9 John d Angelo<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW overview. Image \u00a9 John d Angelo<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

Image \u00a9 John d Angelo<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

Image \u00a9 John d Angelo<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW Comfort Station roof plans<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW David Adjaye sketch<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

Site plan<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW Sports House elevations<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW Sports House Elevations<\/p>\n

\"Adjaye<\/p>\n

RCW Sports House roof plan<\/p>\n

The multicultural team at Adjaye Associates, which was founded in 2000, is inspired by the widest range of cultural discourse. The practice completed projects all across the world and has studios in New York, London, and Accra.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adjaye Associates’ projects, which are renowned for their ability to provide a rich civic experience, vary in shape and style but are all connected by their capability to produce new typologies and make reference to a wide range of cultural histories.<\/p>\n

The practice works all over the world and has studios in Accra, London, and New York. The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture<\/a> (NMAAHC), the practice’s most famous commission to yet, opened on the National Mall in Washington, DC, in 2016 and won the New York Times’ “Cultural Event of the Year” award.<\/p>\n

Recently, Adjaye Associates, with Cooper Robertson as executive architect, completed the Studio Museum<\/a> in Harlem, New York. In addition, the firm unveiled plans for the International Children’s Cancer Research Centre<\/a> in Ghana.<\/p>\n

Project facts<\/p>\n

Project name:\u00a0William Davidson Sport House<\/p>\n

Architect:\u00a0Adjaye Associates<\/p>\n

Landscape Architect:\u00a0Michael Van Valenburgh Associates Inc<\/p>\n

Architect of Record:\u00a0Neumann\/Smith Architecture<\/p>\n

Size\u00a0<\/p>\n

Park: 8.9 hectares \/ 22 acres\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pavilion:\u00a028,000 sq ft\/ 2601 sqm<\/p>\n

Lighting Design:\u00a0Domingo Gonzalez Associates<\/p>\n

Structural Engineer:\u00a0Resurgent Engineering<\/p>\n

Hydrology and River Ecology:\u00a0LimnoTech<\/p>\n

Civil Engineer: PEA Inc<\/p>\n

Electrical Engineer: Peter Basso<\/p>\n

Urban Design:\u00a0Utile<\/p>\n

Graphic Design: H Plus<\/p>\n

Irrigation Design:\u00a0WC3 Design<\/p>\n

The top image in the article \u00a9\u00a0John d Angelo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All drawings \u00a9 Adjaye Associates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All images \u00a9\u00a0Ryan Southen<\/a>\u00a0unless otherwise stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

> via Adjaye Associates<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Adjaye Associates<\/a>
\n basketball court<\/a>
\n Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates<\/a>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A historic 22-acre makeover along the Detroit Riverfront, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park redefines the city’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395139,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-395138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}