640 Temple

CLIENT: Temple Group Holdings
LOCATION: Detroit, MI
YEAR: 2017 - Ongoing


McIntosh Poris Architects’ adaptive reuse of the historic Standard Accident Insurance Company Building, originally designed in 1920 by architect Albert Kahn, will feature a transformation of interior spaces to accommodate 64 apartment units and a 101-key hotel, offering a banquet facility, several restaurants and bars, and a basement club. The building entrances will be upgraded to include a new canopy on Temple Street, a porte-cochère for residents and banquet guests on the west side, and a basement club entry off the north alley. The building will feature a new rooftop pool deck with bar and lounge areas. In addition, the firm designed the interiors of the apartment lobby and upper floors, including the units and corridors.

To maintain the building’s classic revival style, several original design features will be preserved, repaired, and reused. The existing double-hung windows divided by stone pilasters and metal-framed windows separated by decorative metal spandrel panels will uphold a distinctive appearance from the street. The Bedford limestone façade with granite base, light wells constructed with beige brick, cornice embellished with an anthemion-patterned copper band, and classic door surround with a cartouche-centered door head ¬above the main entrance will be restored to retain a piece of Detroit’s past.