Collision Works is a creative space needed by the people living in Detroit now and the people coming to visit us. It’s an artful 36-room boutique hotel, co-working facility, and public event space that uses the art of storytelling to connect and engage travelers and locals alike. Stories are the foundation of all other art forms and the basis for human connection– truth and fiction, history and imagination. Stories connect us, help us learn, and are catalyst for personal and community growth.
Increasingly, when people visit cities they want to understand where and who they are visiting; they crave diversity, interaction, and context. It’s not enough to see cool things. They want to learn, engage, and grow personally from the experience. This new type of travel, “Creative Tourism,” is experience-rich and relies on the authentic participation of local residents in the host city. It is arts based, mutually beneficial for the traveler and the residents, and a sustainable form of economic and community development.
We believe hotels could serve as a nexus for mutually beneficial creative co-creation between visitors and locals.
We will offer interactive, educational, and entertaining story-telling experiences for all levels of engagement. Some visitors may want to just quietly enjoy a story painted on the wall in their room. Others might attend a live event in our public courtyard or play with or contribute to the interactive story-wall in our lobby. Still others will attend an onsite workshop with a local university or arts organization, learning and creating side by side with locals. All will be better off having had the experience. And all will feel a greater connection to Detroit and the people that call Detroit home.
We will be located in Eastern Market, one of Detroit’s top neighborhoods for living, working, and arts activities. It is also Detroit’s epicenter for foodie culture, hosting 2M visitors a year to its all season farmers’ market and boutique food stores. The facility will be artfully built from repurposed shipping containers with experts in green construction and container structures. This is a valuable opportunity to bring new methods and new jobs to local designers and builders.
We are driven by community values and sustainable profit and because of this are excited to transfer our current S Corp status to a B Corporation pending Michigan Legislation. Current corporate law makes it difficult for businesses to take employee, community, and environmental interests into consideration when making decisions. B Corporations’ legal structure expands corporate accountability so we are required to make decisions that are good for society, not just shareholders.
We are ready to rock. We are ready to advance the greatness of all who live here and all who choose to visit us. And it will be full of art, alive with story, beaming community, and darn pretty.
Your room will be ready in the Spring of 2014.
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