For the October 4th edition of CreativeMornings/Detroit, Chandra Moore of coG-Studio, will be speaking  on the theme of Play at Lafayette Towers- West. Registration for the event begins at 8:30am, the talk begins at 9:00am and will finish at 10:00am.

coG-Studio is an architecture firm that is dedicated to creating spaces for  youth, wherever they live, learn, and play. Chandra and her team  approaches every project with strong research and critical thinking to recreate relationships between structures, objects, and environments. Currently, the team is working with Quinn Evans and Smith Group JJR to create an atmosphere for young professionals at Lafayette Tower. The towers are part of the housing development designed by Mies van der Rohe.

Free tickets will be available on September 30th. Please register here!

Can you tell us about your early influences in art and design?

I was always interested in architecture and design since I was in sixth grade. I use to cut out images from Architectural Digest and create my own spaces. I still have majority of them till this day. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my parents. I am beyond grateful for their support and advice.

Please share your thoughts on creating and operating a creative business in Detroit.

Creating a business in Detroit is great! It is much easier to do than in most states and it is wonderful for many creatives. Being an architect in the city at this current time can be exciting and challenging due to finances, construction time, and politics. As architects, we collaborate with everyone, from the contractors and engineers to the interior designers in order to build, design and coordinate all aspects of a building, it is important that the form and function work together. Although I am originally from California, I continue to stay in Detroit because I believe in this city; there is so much potential here. I was brought here to design the RiverWalk and it is amazing to see all the changes downtown! It is exciting to be in Detroit–the improvements are bold, different, and the best part is they are getting done.

Describe your creative process.

We take our clients through a very fun and innovative workshop process. As for our creative process in the office, we start with just understanding the space and what it wants to be. We then have design charrettes with the team.

What does creative innovation mean to you?

Challenging the reasoning behind standard designs and principles, in order to create a viable solution.  It’s like acknowledging the reality of a “thing” … and changing it to become better … it’s what I call “virtual reality”.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received or given?

I’ve received great advice from family, friends, and mentors since I began this journey. The advice that keeps me going is to trust your gut. Some call it your spirit or even your instinct. Whatever you want to call it, trust it and move forward.