This week we turned our gaze to Detroit with the help of guest-hosts Jack Hyland, a U of M a student of art and design, and Shan Sutherland, a Masters of Architecture student at the Taubman College of Architecture and Planning.  Shan has worked on a number of architecture projects in Hamtramck and Detroit and we kicked off the show by grilling him about Power House Productions, an organization that has built a number of community installations by cannibalizing materials from abandon structures; including Squash house, a “sculptural sports arena and greenhouse.” Shan also told us about Afterhouse, a “semi subterranean passive geothermal greenhouse,” built on the foundation of an abandoned house.

Shan then moved from the hot seat to the host seat with the arrival of Jeff Pituch, a member of the board for the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI), which focuses on sustainable agriculture in Detroit’s North End.

We were interested to hear from Jeff how MUFI is able to operate as a 100% volunteer organization with no large-scale funding.  It turns out that small targeted grants and a knack for winning Facebook liking competitions (their Facebook group has more likes than ours), make up the majority of their funding.  We discussed the challenges and opportunities that arise when operating entirely with volunteers.  We also discussed their challenges remaining in place in an area undergoing “redevelopment.”

This week we listened to some great Detroit music, including The Dramatics, whose message “Whatcha See is Whatcha Get” describes IHIH perfectly (as long as change the word see to hear)…