Michigan is a national draw for modern architecture

One of the places that helped establish Michigan as a center for architecture and design was Cranbrook, just outside Detroit. Cranbrook includes K-12 private schools, an Institute of Science, the Cranbrook Academy of Art and an art museum. Cranbrook was designed in the 1920s and '30s by the renowned Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, who helped establish a creative culture that attracted designers Ray and Charles Eames and modern architects Ralph Rapson and Harry Weese. Saarinen's son Eero, himself a prominent architect, lived and trained at Cranbrook.

Reed Kroloff, a former editor-in-chief of Architecture magazine and director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art, lives on campus in a home designed by Saarinen. He's grown accustomed to finding visitors — curious about Cranbrook and its role as a crucible for modern art, architecture and design — peering in the front door.

"Usually, if I'm not in my bathrobe, I'll give them a little bit of a tour," Kroloff said.