Wright Museum Campus (Theme Course, Ecological Design)

Project Dates: January 2025-April 2026 (projected)

Client: Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

SEAS Advisor: Lisa DuRussel, Assistant Professor of Practice, Landscape Architecture

SEAS Students: TBD

About the Client

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History celebrates the rich cultural legacy of African Americans, and is one of the largest African American museums in the world. The Wright houses more than 35,000 artifacts pertaining to the African American experience, and welcomes more than half a million people annually. In addition to its social justice work, the Wright is increasingly focused on internal sustainability efforts and recently formed a Green Team to reduce its carbon footprint and explore the role that cultural institutions like museums can play in climate action.

Project Objectives

• The Wright is seeking support in several design/build initiatives that would help optimize the use of both their own grounds, as well as realize a fully engaged connection to the Detroit Square as a part of the larger Cultural Center Planning Initiative (CCPI). The CCPI is an international design competition hosted by the Detroit Institute of Arts and Midtown Detroit Inc. to reimagine Detroit’s cultural district.
• This project will include a relationship-building component and explore the Wright’s executive priorities and sustainability-related goals in three core impact areas: water, energy, and waste.
• Elements of this project could include developing a sustainability public education program, examining methods for physically connecting cultural institutions, and bolstering the Museum's climate resiliency through physical innovations such as native landscaping and green infrastructure.

Additional information about this project, its team members and anticipated deliverables will be available on this webpage in spring 2025.