DETROIT — A photographer and an architect plan to freeze one of Detroit’s thousands of abandoned homes this winter, encasing it in ice to draw attention to foreclosures that have battered the region.
The project from Gregory Holm and Matthew Radune, dubbed Ice House Detroit, is the latest example of the remnants of Detroit’s population loss and industrial decline serving as artistic inspiration and canvas.
“I’ve been really fascinated by the whole mythology of Detroit and the structures and what they represent,” said Holm, who grew up on the city’s east side.
Holm, 38, plans to photograph the transformation of the house, which will be sprayed with water and gradually covered in ice. In the spring, crews will salvage what building materials can be reused and demolish the home. The lot will be donated, probably for a community garden. The project will be documented at
Detroit, which has shrunk from a population of 1.8 million in the 1950s to half that now, has tens of thousands of vacant homes and buildings.
