Cranbrook Campus

Cranbrook Campus

“One of the greatest campuses located anywhere in the world,” The New York Times, 1984.

The legacy of Cranbrook Academy of Art is evident in the buildings that make up its remarkable campus. Our graduates often say that their time here is spent “living in a design storybook.” The community is a 319-acre campus located just outside of Detroit, Michigan, filled with woods, lakes, streams, landscaped courtyards, and thoughtfully-constructed buildings.

Entrance to the Maija Grotell Courtyard. Photo by PD Rearick.

Founded by Detroit newspaper baron George G. Booth and designed by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen (father to Eero), the men came together over a shared appreciation of the Arts and Crafts style.

Both men felt that craftsmanship would result in superior products and provide the foundation for an ethically responsible life. Saarinen designed the campus as a true artist’s colony. Our students move from building to building through doors, archways, and courtyards that have been constructed for inspiration. Each vista is considered, and each pathway unique.

ASH ARDER, FIBER 2018

At the center of the Academy of Art is Cranbrook Art Museum, which offers a continuously shifting roster of exhibitions by contemporary artists and designers.

Our students and Artists-in-Residence live and work side-by-side in a true community fashion. While the campus is part of our long-standing legacy, it is always shifting – responsive to changing seasons, patterns of local wildlife and the influence of our creative community.

A Birds-Eye View of Our Campus

A Birds-Eye View of Our Campus