Designed by the prolific firm of Sims-Varner and Associates, this DPL branch is noted for its “abundant natural light and pre-cast long span structural system.”

Formerly the McMichael Middle School (1981), what’s now the Detroit Police Training Academy has striking 45-degree angle slopes on its north and south facing walls. The building inspired Matthew Piper to write that it looks like “it might be the home of the first colony on Mars.”

It was designed by by Sims-Varner and Associates, perhaps the most prolific black-led firm in Detroit.

Perhaps the most active black-led firm working in Detroit right now, Hamilton Anderson Associates (HAA), designed this striking school in the Cass Corridor in 2005. HAA is currently working on several other high-profile commissions in the city.

Designed by Nathan Johnson, this stately church was built same year (1974) as Plymouth United Church of Christ across the street. Also like Plymouth, Bethel was forced to move to its new location after city planners decided to constructed a boulevard that cut through their previous building.

Designed by the sibling architecture firm Madison and Madison, this ship-like church made of poured concrete was built in 1974 after the church was forced to vacate its previous building on Garfield Street due to the development of the Detroit Medical Center.

The 54-unit structure was designed by Hamilton Anderson Associates (HAA) was the first of five multifamily buildings at the City Modern development in Brush Park when it opened in 2019. The modern exterior has red accents and brick to match the pallet of the neighborhood’s historic mansions. It’s also the newest building on this list.

HAA is an architectural consultant for Bedrock Detroit on City Modern.

Churches were often some of the only organizations with resources willing to hire black architects prior to Mayor Coleman Young’s tenure. A Brutalist addition to the Second Baptist Church in Greektown was done in 1968 by Nathan Johnson, who worked on at least a dozen churches locally.

The tenure of Coleman A. Young (1974-1994) was probably the best time to be a black architect in Detroit, as some of the most high-profile commissions were granted during his tenure. That included Nathan Johnson’s designs for the People Mover stations. He subcontracted work to other African-American architects like Aubrey Agee, Roger Margerum, and Sims-Varner.

One of the more expensive buildings designed by a black firm, the mixed-use Millender Center (1985) contains 339 apartment units, ground-floor retail, and a 1,850-space parking deck. It was executed by Sims-Varner and Associates.

The expansive school and technical center, which houses an aerospace engineering school, was designed in 1982 by Sims-Varner and Associates. The most striking feature of the building is its atrium, whose high ceilings and sharply-inclined windows admit lots of light and a feeling of openness.

One of the most interesting houses in Detroit is the one Roger Margerum, an African-American architect who worked for firms in Detroit and Chicago, designed for himself in the early 2000s. Detroit Home Magazine described the house as, “essentially a cube deconstructed then reconfigured in a series of 45-degree triangles.”