Currently under construction, the Detroit Horse Power (DHP) Equestrian Center will provide year-round programs that offer safe and enriching environments for under-resourced youth populations to develop life skills, such as perseverance, empathy, responsible risk-taking, and confidence. The center, as designed by McIntosh Poris Architects (MPA), will welcome horses back within the city limits more than 50 years after Detroit passed zoning ordinances prohibiting livestock.
“The Detroit Horse Power Equestrian Center addresses two of the city’s persistent problems: the shortage of opportunities in Metro Detroit for neighborhood children and the abundance of vacant land,” says Michael Poris, AIA, founding partner of MPA. “Our design creates an inclusive, welcoming gathering point for the community and fits the site’s context. We address both human and equine needs in a way that authentically celebrates Detroit’s diversity.”
DHP, which began offering youth summer camps in 2015, purchased a vacant 14-acre site from Detroit Public Schools Community District, and embarked on a capital campaign for the Equestrian Center located in the Hope Village neighborhood. MPA designed the DHP Equestrian Center with a 12,000-square-foot indoor arena, 17 stables, office and classroom space, and storage for hay and waste. The grounds include a 20,000-square-foot outdoor arena, pastures, a half-mile bridle path, pedestrian paths, and a sheltered bus stop. When complete it will be the largest urban equestrian center in the US.
MPA applied its more than 30 years of expertise designing buildable projects in Detroit. Since DHP relies on donations and grants for funding, MPA’s design employs a pre-engineered wood barn structural system, creating large, uninterrupted arena space that is cost effective to build within the projected budget. To expedite entitlements, the MPA team opted for a contemporary rural-structure vernacular using common urban materials, such as wood, masonry, and metal. When completed in 2026, the facility will enable DHP to introduce more than 1,000 kids per year to horses, accommodate five times the number of summer campers, and allow ten times as much time for after school programs than previously available.
In addition to Poris, the MPA design team comprises firm principal John Skok, AIA, and associate Reid Mauti. The DHP Equestrian Center project team includes contractor Lynnman Construction, landscape architect LivingLab, mechanical engineer Strategic Energy Solutions, electrical engineer ETS Engineering, civil engineer Stonefield Engineering, and construction manager L.S. Brinker. Ethos Development Partners and Proxy are acting as advisors to DHP.
