TechTown Detroit rendering.zip

Renderings of a plan for TechTown, a "knowledge-focused" district in Detroit's Midtown, show walkable landscapes centered around Burroughs Street with new elements ranging from a project display apparatus and "collaboration cubes" to food trucks and a climbing wall in the area between the Lodge Freeway, Cass Avenue, I-94 and Grand Boulevard.

(Images via Sasaki Associates)

TechTown Detroit renderings 10 Gallery: TechTown Detroit renderings

DETROIT, MI -- Designs for sprucing up the

TechTown district

have garnered awards from Boston and Ann Arbor-based architecture and planning organizations.

The TechTown district, at the northern edge of Midtown, where the blossoming college neighborhood meets New Center, is in store for physical changes designed to create more interaction and a more appealing environment, planners said.

They hope to do away with the, closed plain, parking-lot heavy feel of the area between the Lodge Freeway, Cass Avenue, I-94 and Grand Boulevard.

"TechTown — an emerging knowledge district in Midtown Detroit — is currently characterized by surface parking and inward-facing, siloed hubs of activity," said planning and design firm Sasaki Associates and real estate firm U3 Ventures in a joint news release.

"The TechTown District Plan articulates an inspiring vision for the regeneration of the district. The plan accelerates innovation, promotes entrepreneurship, and builds community around the generation of ideas in a vibrant, mixed-use setting."

Project renderings show walkable landscapes centered around Burroughs Street with new elements ranging from a display apparatus and "collaboration cubes" to food trucks and a climbing wall.

The designs, supported by won awards this month from the Society for College and University Planning and the Boston Society of Landscape Architects.

Check out the images in the above gallery.

Follow Khalil AlHajal on Twitter @DetroitKhalil or on Facebook at Detroit Khalil. He can be reached at kalhajal@mlive.com or 313-643-0527.