Project Description

Book Tower has been an iconic part of Detroit's landscape for nearly 100 years. Designed by Louis Kamper in the Italian Renaissance style, the approximately 500,000-square-foot structure was built in phases beginning with the Book Building in 1917 and followed by the Book Tower in 1926. The building was a bustling part of downtown Detroit for decades, comprised of office spaces throughout the building and tower, with retail spaces on the lower floors. The property fell victim to the economic downturn in Detroit in the 1960s and businesses steadily moved out until the final tenant closed its doors in 2009. The property sat vacant and exposed to the elements from then onwards, until Bedrock purchased the development, now known as Book Tower, in 2015. Bedrock, a full-service real estate firm based in Detroit owned by Rocket Mortgage founder Dan Gilbert, sought to add a mixed-use program to Detroit's growing downtown to meet the needs of businesses, visitors, and residents alike. Bedrock chose ODA as the project architect, interior designer, and landscape designer, Kraemer Design Group as the historic preservation architect and Brinker/Christman joint venture as the site construction manager.

ODA's primary objectives for the design were to build experience-driven public spaces, create a narrative that felt consistent with modern Detroit's walkability, and renovate the existing structure while maintaining the architectural spirit of Louis Kamper's original design. A crown jewel of the restoration included restoring and recreating an original three-story atrium topped with a 6,000-piece Keppler Glass skylight, which had been previously covered to add leasable square footage in the building. Using an old photograph of the skylight, a hand-drawn sketch, and the remaining cast-iron frame of the dome to aid in the design, the entire project team worked together to reverse engineer the original structure, which extended down far beneath the existing dome to the handrails of the third floor. Work on the building also included replacing 2,483 windows with modern, historically accurate versions to increase energy efficiency; recreating and hand painting more than 7,000 square feet of ornate ceiling tiles to match the original designs and color; reinstalling 50,000 square feet of marble; restoring 29 caryatids on the exterior of the building; adapting former office spaces into 46 unique floor plans for apartments and hotel rooms; refitting the rooftop event space with a 2,200 square foot skylight; repairing the building's original travertine floors and revealing the classic limestone façade for the first time in years.

After seven years and a nearly $400 million investment, the restoration now stands as a notable contribution to the heart of Downtown Detroit, where Bedrock and ODA have introduced a mixed-use structure that expands the public realm and serves the needs of businesses, visitors, and residents alike. The building features a harmonious blend of public and private space, including The Residences at Book Tower, a ROOST Apartment Hotel, office, and retail spaces, restaurants, a rooftop bar, a skylit ballroom, a three-story atrium with a domed skylight, and a fitness center. Book Tower complements the burgeoning restaurant and retail scene in downtown Detroit by offering a selection of dining, bar, and event experiences. The main level features Le Suprême, a new-to-market French restaurant with breakfast, lunch, and dinner; Bar Rotunda, a call day café and bar; Kamper's, a rooftop bar that pays homage to the buildings architect and upcoming concepts such as Hiroki-San, omakase and izakaya-style dining and Sakazuki, a sake pub.