Minoru yamasaki works

Helen L. DeRoy Auditorium
5203 Cass | Constructed: 1964 | Two Stories: 12,617 ft²

The Helen L. DeRoy Audtiorium is a two-story windowless steel-frame building that is almost square in plan, featuring tall, narrow gray-cast facades and Gothic arches.

It was designed with the Prentis Building to form a two-building complex on the Wayne State University campus.

Completed in 1964, the buildings were designed to relate closely to one another both in terms of their functions and in architectural and spatial terms.

The buildings were constructed at a critical point in Yamasaki's career when he was experimenting with ornamentation, light and shadow, and the use of pools and gardens to soften perception of standard International Style architecture.

The striking building is completely surrounded by a reflecting pool on all sides, approximately three feet deep by twenty-two feet wide.

Visitors may enter the building by accessing small bridges. A main auditorium on the first level