Midcentury Modern Design: History & Hidden Details
DETROIT – Outside General Motors‘ new world headquarters, between teh 12-story building and the city’s first new skyscraper in more than 30 years, sit two red Chevrolet pickup trucks.
One is a 1963 Chevrolet K20.The other is a new Silverado EV. The trucks, while part of a temporary holiday display, are symbolic of what’s inside the new global offices for the Detroit automaker: its past and present, woven together.
GM is occupying four of six office floors of the building and has filled them with artifacts, design nods and “Easter eggs” tied to the Detroit automaker’s history.
Thay range from a blueprint of GM’s iconic design dome and an early map of its nearby proving grounds to an interior wallpaper of 300 patented technologies and a decorative wall of cassette tapes with songs featuring the automaker’s brands as well playful references to executive stalwarts such as CEO Mary Barra and President Mark Reuss.
One of the centerpiece objects of GM’s new headquarters is the McCormick Speed Form, an aerodynamic wind-tunnel model developed at the Warren Technical Center.
Courtesy: GM
“Leadership asked when we were helping design the space to bring in some Easter eggs and details to represent who we are at GM, you know, honoring our culture and our history and our innovation,” Rebecca Waldmeir, GM industrial design architecture and experience manager, told CNBC during a tour of the new headquarters.
Other surprises include references to relevant Detroit streets, design influences from GM’s famed design campus in suburban Detroit and artwork and sculptures of its products.
aside from the aesthetics, GM officials say the new offices will assist with collaboration and are more relevant to how the company expects its employees to work in a post-pandemic world. It will house executive offices and other corporate functions such as marketing, legal and finance.
“A headquarters really shoudl be, at some level, a beacon for the culture of the company,” said David Massaron, GM vice president of infrastructure and corporate citizenship.”When you come in here, it should help people understand who we want to be.”
A wall
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General Motors is putting the finishing touches on its new global headquarters in downtown Detroit, a 767,000-square-foot building designed to foster collaboration and attract talent. The space,located in the historic Hudson’s building,features open office areas,a semi-public showroom,and even a pickleball court.
The move comes as automakers rethink their office spaces in the wake of the pandemic and compete for employees in a tight labor market. GM’s new HQ is significantly smaller than Ford’s recently opened facility in Dearborn, Michigan, but the company says it’s a deliberate choice, reflecting its existing footprint in the region.
A Detroit Renaissance
The Hudson’s building, a detroit landmark, had been vacant for decades before Rocket Companies chairman and billionaire dan Gilbert, who has been purchasing and renovating properties in Detroit for more than a decade.
Showroom, pickleball
Aside from the office areas and the executive floor, which all overlook an open atrium, GM also plans to open a semi-public space to display products and host events on the first floor of the building.
Other amenities include social gathering areas and lounges, food and beverage services and a pickleball court and recreation area.
A common area outside of the executive offices of GM’s new headquarters in downtown Detroit.
Michael Wayland | CNBC
GM’s new headquarters, which remains under construction, comes months after Ford christened
a new 2.1-million-square-foot global HQ
and product design and advancement center in nearby Dearborn, Michigan.
Ford’s new facility includes offices, design and industrial operations and a host of amenities such as a 160,000-square-foot dining area with eight ”kitchen concepts,” multiple courtyards and other upgrades.
The notable difference in the size between GM’s and ford’s new headquarters comes down to location, headcount and the automakers’ portfolios of offices and operations throughout the region.
A pickleball court and seating area inside the building that includes GM’s new headquarters in Detroit.
Michael Wayland | CNBC
GM, such as, has a vast technology and design center that occupies 710 acres in nearby Warren, Michigan. That campus houses more than 24,000 employees.
Massaron said GM didn’t feel it needed to create “a city within a city” for its new headquarters, because it’s actually “a building within a city.”
Here’s a look inside GM’s new world headquarters:
The entry of the executive floor inside GM’s new global headquarters in Detroit.
Michael Wayland | CNBC