PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity

2025 United States Pavilion
19th Venice Architectural Biennale

 
 

AVIS-ELSMERE
8869 Avis Street, Detroit, Michigan, 48209, USA

“The design fits the neighborhood. All of us have different opinions and different ideas, but [the project] takes those ideas, those differences, together to create something that we all could have a part in. The building has multiple uses in a small container. This little container — and when you open the lid, it just flows.”

-Mary Luevanos, Resident, Artist

 

Conceived as a neighborhood porch, Avis–Elsmere anchors a constellation of community-driven spaces that nurture local civic life and cultural connection in Southwest Detroit.

Through a participatory design process, the project transformed a former square-dance and quinceanera dress shop in a residential neighborhood into a year-round space for a hyper-local community development nonprofit,
its partners, and neighbors. This collaborative effort was led by a university- based community design center, partner faculty practice, nonprofit “client,” and a highly engaged group of residents, artists and youth. The process and project uphold the values of the organization and community, spilling into and welcoming the neighborhood as a dynamic and evolving place that embodies generosity and adaptability.

The space is a manifestation of intentionality in design—from the mural that wraps the building to the wrought iron-clad front porch, the project integrates stories and craft from the neighborhood. The porch was conceptualized as both a threshold and a stage, blending indoor and outdoor, public and private. Here, the porch doubles as the corner, a neighborhood meeting point where community, identity, negotiation, art, design, and programming converge. The porch is familial and grounding, while the corner is dynamic and public.

The building serves as a space where boundaries dissolve into opportunities for connection and exchange, reinforcing Detroit’s identity as a city defined by its resilience. This porch, like those of Southwest Detroit, are not merely functional but deeply reflective of community values, serving as places where culture is performed, stories are shared, and relationships are forged.