Category Archives: Philosophy

Start-ups are meant to evolve. Nine months ago we set out to make a new kind of meaningful hotel here in Detroit. We did all our research, found potential sites, formed partnerships, all the while challenging ourselves to rethink hotels entirely. In the end we’ve realized that what we are building isn’t just a new kind of hotel; it’s a Community Accelerator. Take a look at our new About Page to learn about what we think is a powerful strategic shift in the project. We hope you agree.

Last week The Detroit Hotel Project was officially incorporated in the fine state of Michigan. It was an exciting day. We opted to form an S Corporation instead of the hybrid limited profit corporate class of L3C for a few reasons. We love what the L3C represents — a company responsible to its community that functions kind of like an efficient non-profit. But we have also heard that there are ambiguities that make expansion difficult, even if one’s mission and values are in the right place. We are instead waiting for Michigan to approve the B Corporation, which is currently in state legislation. Read the rest

It’s rare to find inspirational calls to action in television commercials. Yet, the Chrysler ads that began with Eminem in Super Bowl 2011 “Imported from Detroit” have pretty consistently turned us on, even before we took the plunge and moved our company to this fine city. We won’t get into all the psychology that makes these so great, for the company, for Detroit, and for a greater concept of America; an interesting conversation to be sure. But we do want to share these four bits of wisdom and explain why they are so important to us.

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Participatory Design has roots in 1960’s Scandinavian design projects involving trade union workers. It was actually called cooperative design and intended to involve all stakeholders in group exercises to collectively solve shared challenges – like the design of tools, work environments, and public spaces. It comes from a principle that the people who use a product, service, or space are best suited to design it or should at the least have voice for meaningful input.  Typically designers, architects, and planners will engage a broad range of people in exercises that will help articulate needs, wants, and preferences. At Awake we talk about it in terms of designing with people, and not for them.

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