Downtown's New Buildings

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Lowenstein is not alone. We heard plenty of criticism when we asked six local architects to evaluate downtown’s newest buildings, from Corner House to the planned addition to City Hall and the embattled 601 Forest student high-rise.

Three names immediately suggested themselves—Carl Luckenbach, Mike Quinn, and John Mouat—and those architects in turn suggested three more: Marc Rueter, Roy Strickland, and Bob Beckley.

Silver-haired and acerbic, Carl Luckenbach designed the jaunty Forest Street parking structure and the innovative Pittsfield and Malletts Creek branch libraries; he’s now working on a new downtown library. Measured but incisive, Mike Quinn of Quinn Evans is best known for major preservation projects like the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment—but his firm also has the contract to design the city’s new police-courts building. John Mouat’s firm, Mitchell and Mouat, did the gracious Fourth and Washington parking structure; his insight and cautious reticence reflect his experience as a longtime member of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board.