Photos: Architect Yamasaki designed gems for Wayne State campus

No architect left more of a mark on Wayne State University’s campus than Minoru Yamasaki, who is best known for designing the World Trade Center in New York City.

In addition to creating the master plan for the campus, the Seattle-born architect designed four buildings and two reflecting pools for the university between 1957 and 1964.

Yamasaki moved to Detroit in 1945 to work for Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, a highly regarded architectural firm that designed downtown’s Guardian Building in the late 1920s. Yamasaki later founded another firm and stayed in metro Detroit until he died in 1986.

All photos by Steve Neavling. 

McGregor Memorial Conference Center
Yamasak’s first Wayne State building was the McGregor Memorial Conference Center, built in 1958 and hailed by Time magazine as an “architectural gem.”
The McGregor Memorial Conference Center features an open atrium illuminated by a diamond-shaped skylight.
The McGregor Memorial Conference Center features an open atrium illuminated by diamond-shaped windows on a skylight.
Yamasaki, who believed a tranquil reprieve from daily stress was important, added a sculpture garden and reflecting pool.
Yamasaki, who advocated a tranquil reprieve from daily stress, added a sculpture garden and reflecting pool next to McGregor Memorial Conference Center.
The reflecting pool, with McGregor Memorial Conference Center on the right.
The reflecting pool, with McGregor Memorial Conference Center on the right.
A sculpture surrounded by the reflecting pool.
A sculpture surrounded by the reflecting pool.
The four-story College of Education Building was opened in 1960 and features tall, narrow windows.
The four-story College of Education Building opened in 1960 and features tall, narrow windows facing faculty offices. The classrooms are windowless to minimize distractions.
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Yamasaki was known for vertical lines.
Vertical lines often dominate Yamasaki’s designs.
The interior of the College of Education Building
The view from a stairway of the College of Education Building
The Helen L. Delroy Auditorium (foreground) was designed to compliment the Meyer L. and Anna Prentis Building (background).
The Helen DeRoy Auditorium (foreground) and Meyer L. and Anna Prentis Building (background) were designed to compliment each other in 1964.
The Helen L. Delroy Auditorium has a windowless interior and is surrounded by a reflecting pool.
The Helen DeRoy Auditorium has a windowless interior and is surrounded by a reflecting pool.
The Helen L. Delroy Auditorium features a curved exterior.
The Helen DeRoy Auditorium features a curved exterior.
The Meyer L. and Anna Prentis Building is supported by pillars and exemplifies Yamasaki's use of vertical lines.
The Meyer L. and Anna Prentis Building is supported by pillars and exemplifies Yamasaki’s use of vertical lines.

Steve Neavling

Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.

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