UDM Architecture students help create fun miniature golf in Detroit

Instead of studying the masterpieces of Rembrandt Peale, Georgia O'Keefe, and Andy Warhol in ornate frames this summer, thousands of Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) visitors will be "putting on the green" thanks to some creative folks at University of Detroit Mercy's School of Architecture.

As part of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) special line-up of summer events, a one-of-a-kind golf course has been designed by University of Detroit Mercy Dean and DIA Board Member Stephen Vogel and the Detroit Collaborative Design Center at the school. The first golfer will be teeing off this Sunday, May 27 at 5 p.m.

The 10-hole miniature golf course, specially designed for the DIA by Detroit area artists, architects and designers is located on the north lawn while the museum is closed to complete the final stage of a six-year construction and gallery reinstallation project. The golf course wouldn't be complete without a Caddy Shack to purchase tickets, pick up clubs, grab a quick snack or purchase DIA golf hats and other "pro shop" items.

Donated by UDM's Design Center, the DIA Caddy Shack was built using architectural salvage from Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Detroit. Vogel directed the group construction effort along with Dan Pitera, executive director of the Design Center and students from UDM's School of Architecture.

Focusing on the idea of transformation from night and day, open and close, inactive and active, Pitera gathered inspiration from the Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence, Italy, Europe's oldest wholly-stone segmental arch bridge. As he explained, "During the day, the bridge becomes extruded with noise, movement, and the opening of spaces, transforms it from its inactive evening state."

The golf holes are works of art in themselves, designed and built by the following local talent:

One Pure Stroke is a floor plan of the DIA by SmithGroup (Detroit), the architect of record for the museum's renovation project
The Loop is a challenging water hole by Donald McKinnon, Cass Technical High School student (Detroit).
Leap Frog is a giant, colorful frog by Daniel Cascardo (Royal Oak).
Full Tilt Detroit resembles a pinball machine by Navigating Business Space (Troy), The Brainwerks (Southfield), Primeway, Inc., (Madison Heights) and Interior Partnership Group (Clawson).
Matisse Rose is built like a sculpture and represents the museum's collection with long stripes of color, each representing a well-known artist, covering a sloped platform by Rose Desloover (Farmington Hills).
Construction Site with a shovel, wheelbarrow, bricks, barrel and cones fro golfers to traverse, by Gillett Associates (Farmington Hills).
What Goes Around is a concentric steel band spiral with a 16' diameter that allows the golfer to watch the ball go past, by Gary Kulak (Birmingham).
Gridlock provides a bird's eye view of Detroit's freeway system and skyline by Nudell Architects (Farmington Hills).
Laughing Trees is based on a "Heidelberg-like" project in Atlanta featuring whimsically painted trees by Andy Malone (Detroit).
Devil's Night is a commentary on this infamous night featuring marionettes on a rotating stage by Andy Malone (Detroit).

DIA Course hours are Wednesday and Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m., and Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Cost for one round is $5 for adults, $4 for DIA members, and $3 for kids 12 and under. For more information, visit www.dia.org.

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The University of Detroit Mercy is Michigan's largest private Catholic University, offering approximately 100 majors and programs in 60 academic fields. Sponsored by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, the University has three campuses located in downtown and northwest Detroit.

For the 11th consecutive year, UDM was ranked among the top tier of Midwestern master's universities in U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" – 2012 edition.

Publish date: May 23, 2007