Michigan Central Station Gets A Sweet New Coffeehouse
2025 Best of Year Winner for Coffee/Tea
Motor City’s long-abandoned beaux arts train station, Michigan Central, has been given a new lease on life after a six-year renovation spearheaded by Ford Motor Company. Among the first public-facing interiors to be completed is Yellow Light, a pint-size, 700-square-foot coffeehouse by Merge Architects that dishes up plenty of sweetness beyond the cinnamon-sugar donuts on its menu. From the concourse, leaded windows frame views of dusty-mauve and lemon-yellow niches surrounded by hand-dyed, fluted concrete panels. Concrete flooring is animated with painted stripes, and marble columns salvaged from the 1913 terminal are integrated into the cash-wrap counter, acting as plinths for the work top and effortlessly establishing a tactile connection between old and new. In doing so, the café becomes more than a place for quick caffeination. It’s a small but meaningful example of the Detroit station’s renewal.
See Interior Design’s Best of Year Winners and Honorees
Explore must-see projects and innovative products that took home high honors.
PROJECT TEAM
PROJECT TEAM
ELIZABETH WHITTAKER; ROBIN BANKERT; CHRIS JOHNSON; ZEYNEP KUHEYLAN.
read more
Projects
A Coastal Home In Australia Built Into The Canopy
Madeleine Blanchfield Architects distils architecture to its essentials in a Bronte home where raw concrete, brick and timber form a richly tactile backdrop to family life and artistic practice.
Projects
Inside A Colorful Health Choice Pharmacy In Coney Island
Sergio Mannino Studio reimagines a Coney Island pharmacy as a flexible, design-forward wellness hub.
Projects
A Victorian Worker’s Cottage In New Light
Anna-Carin has carefully uncovered the character of a century-old Victorian Cottage, layering timeless materials, collected pieces and quiet interventions.