THE OPERATION

BH is a low-profit limited liability company (L3C) located in Detroit, MI pursuing socially and environmentally beneficial goals. BH believes in reusing existing structures as a means of establishing and maintaining authentic, livable, and sustainable urban places.

The realities of Detroit’s real estate and development climate necessitates a progressive approach to preservation strategies. Less concerned with matching historic paint color, BH practices a “bodies in buildings” approach to preserving Detroit’s waning built fabric. With so many underutilized and vacant properties creating a strain on market values and community connectivity (notwithstanding public safety), BH places a focus on identifying barriers to reuse and employing creative solutions that allow investors and the community to reclaim and improve these spaces. 

PEOPLE

Amy Nicole Swift, LEED-AP | LinkedIn | Resume 

Founder & Director

Amy is an architect, writer, and artist living-working-advocating in the city of Detroit. In 2012, she formed Building Hugger to fill what she saw as a void in accessible renovation design focused on marginalized vernacular structures. She has taught adaptive architectural design at the University of Detroit Mercy, and currently lectures on the history and theory of 20th century architecture at Lawrence Technological University. She studied Architecture at Kent State, holds a BS in Interior Architecture from Lawrence Tech, and completed a MS in Historic Preservation from Columbia University in NYC. She boasts 7 years of experience in architectural practice and has worked previously in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco.