Design & Build
design/ THE STORY
As part of the PEACE Park initiative, Imagine was commissioned to reimagine one of Detroit’s most significant historic sites - the Packard Plant. The design approach balances preservation and renewal, honoring the site’s industrial legacy while introducing a new civic landscape intended to support culture, gathering, and community engagement. The intent is to reflect the spirit of innovation that once defined the world’s most advanced industrial complex.
Reimagined as “Packard Park,” the concept centers around an automotive-inspired art installation extending across more than three acres. The composition is anchored by a sculptural piece titled “Detroit’s Green Soul,” around which Imagine arches and integrated water features are layered over checkerboard courtyards, establishing a rhythmic, modular ground plane.
Supporting program elements are distributed along both sides of the central installation. Behind custom steel and wood benching, a sequence of steppers leads visitors into an Imagine Art Garden on one side and a splash pad on the other, creating a balanced mix of contemplative and active spaces. Together, these elements transform the historic site into a contemporary public landscape rooted in memory, materiality, and community use.
