Adaptive Reuse
African Bead Museum
A Community Beacon
The African Bead Museum is a multifaceted arts and culture campus in Detroit founded by artist Olayami Dabls, a visionary leader in Detroit’s artistic and urban rebirth.
Project Details
- Location: Grand River & West Grand Blvd
- Project Size: 7,200 SQ FT
- Completion Date: January 2019
- Architects:
- Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects
- Program: Museum
A Community Beacon
Located on a major boulevard, the African Bead Museum consists of Olayami Dabls’ extensive outdoor public art installations, the African Bead Gallery, and a significant collection of African art and historic artifacts. Connecting the resilience found in Africa with that of Detroit, the Museum weaves together the immense power of African heritage into a vital contemporary context that has engaged and attracted local and global audiences. Following the renovation of the corner building, an overall site masterplan - the three townhomes currently housing the Museum’s facilities and an adjacent empty building - provides direction for future phases. The proposed vision renovates all of the buildings and creates a new entry to unite the Museum complex, a gallery space for exhibitions, climate-controlled storage for Dabls’ significant collection of African art, visiting artist residences, and administration facilities.
To avoid expending extensive capital in improvements, the scheme reinforces the property’s exterior walls so that they became freestanding surfaces and preserve the murals.