GM Design Studio In Pasadena Scheduled To Start Operations In Q1 2023
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GM is building a new Advanced Design And Technology Campus in Pasadena, which is located in Southern California. The design studio is scheduled to begin operations as soon as Q1 of the 2023 calendar year.
Per a recent report from Pasadena Now, GM project engineer Michael Wick confirmed the facility’s operational start date during the Pasadena Economic Development and Technology Committee meeting held earlier this week, saying “Our schedule calls for us to be complete at the end of 2022 and then we will start moving over the equipment shortly thereafter.”
GM currently runs a studio in North Hollywood, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2021. However, GM has since outgrown that facility. The North Hollywood studio currently hosts roughly 65 to 70 employees, although GM has yet to announce the number of employees that will work at the new Pasadena facility.
Back in July of last year, GM announced a $71 million investment for the new Advanced Design And Technology Campus in Pasadena. The facility will span some 149,000 square-feet, and will include an innovation lab for designing, implementing and validating new design tools, as well as a collaboration, research, and development space. GM will use the facility to “rapidly pilot visualization and immersive technology, including augmented and virtual reality,” as well as provide an “increased footprint allowing for improved output of physical and virtual proof of concepts and show cars.”
Per the Pasadena Now report, the new site will consist of three buildings, and will have three addresses: 565 N. Rosemead Blvd., 580 Sierra Madre Villa Ave., and 600 Sierra Madre Villa.
GM will maintain its facility in North Hollywood until the new Advanced Design And Technology Campus in Pasadena is complete. According to GM project engineer Wick, local construction groups will be hired to build the new Pasadena studio, with construction expected to be complete by December of this year.
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The Architecture of the Building seems a boring supermarket. it could have been more structural expressionismus
That looks like any suburban office building or even like a car dealership. Shouldn’t a Design Studio have a more artful design? One of the great decisions made by GM in the 1950s was to have Eero Saarinen design the GM Tech Center. He was a fantastic talent and he created spaces for GM’s designers to work that were every bit as magnificent as the cars they would go on to create within those spaces,
If gm today wants artistry in their designs again, maybe the California staff will need a place of better inspiration.
Pasadena has conservative architecture. They don’t want to stand out with flashy bright colors.
but you could do a copy of the revival dome of city hall or neoclassical The Beaux Arts-inspired Dynasty house, built in 1991 and designed by noted architect Richard Landry that you would be in good track
I don’t think there is an architect alive today who can think beyond slab sides and boxes.
(I am leaving out Ghery, designer of cartoon-character buildings.)
maybe the truth … another Bank of China of Hong Kong will never have a similar
but there are organics’ architects in Europe mainly…
Ci2Eye:
GM execs should take a trip to Columbus, Indiana to see what Irwin Miller, RIP, and Cummins, Inc. have done to commercial, industrial, institutional, civic, educational and religious architecture in that town. Miller and Cummins have hired world class architects to design exceptional structures. They hit a home run with all bases loaded. Nothing but very positive rave reviews have followed. Cummins stock shares are also skyrocketing.
The Cummins corporate headquarters has much more attractiveness and innovation than the new GM Pasadena design center. Check it out on the web.
Too bad that GM went cookie cutter. Also the move to Ren Center by GM corporate was Meh. Chrysler at least did a corporate campus in Bloomfield Hills. A+
Caterpillar under Doug Oberhelman was going to build a knock out corporate campus outside of downtown Peoria, but when the Caterpillar board of directors gave Doug Oberhelman his early walking papers that three dimensional architectural model layout went to the landfill. The new executive group elected to move to a generic bland corporate office building in Surburban Northwest Chicagoland. More Meh!
Got to put some spunk and wow into facilities like these. Just like Steve Jobs did with Apple’s round corporate headquarters, which is a world class landmark. Apple is now valued greater than many counties.
MK,
We had the same thought. I promise I hadn’t read your comment when I wrote mine.
If one has ever seen the TWA Flight Center at JFK, which has recently been restored and is now used as a hotel, or the terminal at Washington Dulles, or the St. Louis Gateway Arch then it’s obvious that GM selected a talented architect in Saarinen to design their Tech Center. Unfortunately the Tech Center isn’t frequented by the public as the Arch or two airport terminals are so most of us haven’t actually seen it. However, it too is a magnificent work from a brilliant man and I just think designers in particular but really every one thrives in a beautiful environment.
Today’s lowercase gm isn’t the same powerhouse company that it was in the 1950s and sadly that’s reflected in the nondescript design of this building that will house designers in the culture capital of America; that for sure should’ve been an artful space. Perhaps that’s indicative of our times but I long for the days when strong and unapologetic American leaders built monuments to themselves and their industry as Walter P. Chrysler did, with the landmark Chrysler Building in Manhattan, or as uppercase GM did in their heyday with the Tech Center.
yeah indeed, see a BMW Welt in Munich or a Guggenheim Bilbao Museum… etc call Calatrava architect for doing it… like Valencia one… many examples around the world. … see the Kansas City, Kauffman Center For Performing Arts— then we are talking about the sunny Palms California of Art College Pasadena, Hollywood with sci-fi films… not the Kramatorsk… or so. It is GM, not Lada AvtoVAZ
Today is too late, but studied Industrial Vehicle Design and Mechanical engineering… Sent some Resumes to GM Warren, never had a response, of course do not have a green card… California was 25 years ago a dream to go… for example BMW Dreamworks or so… but it was like going to mooon… Of course my work dream was as exterior designer,… it never worked out… but building environment must play a great role. if GM B, mean GM Brasil in SP did not considered me in Design… mission impossible that even when the office is a shoe box. Warren and Detroit would never go, too cold, no attractive at all..
MK,
I took delivery of a car at The Welt. The building was a big part of the experience.
When I once believed Cadillac could make a comeback, I argued for their own dedicated production facility that would only build Cadillacs and a Welt-like delivery center. General Motors somewhat has this concept in place with the Corvette at Bowling Green albeit without the grandeur that a building like The Welt provides.
My suggestion back then, when Cadillac was briefly headquartered in Manhattan, was to take the old Tarrytown facility, which is situated on the scenic Hudson River, and create a destination-like home assembly plant and delivery center for Cadillac. I felt they needed a “home” in the way Goodwood is to Rolls or Maranello to Ferrari. Such a place I thought could add mystique to the brand and Tarrytown was just north of the Cadillac headquarters so I imagined it to be a good spot logistically.
Cadillac was in bad need of some of the near-mythological charm I felt this would provide. Sadly they’ve further devolved since then and are even more “deluxe Chevrolet” now so I no longer see a path back to greatness for Caddy but The Welt situated next to BMW’s main plant in Munich is very much what I had in mind.
well… was never being inside the welt, just outside with bicycle… but was inside FIZ doing projects and had some cafeteria with koi fishes artificial small lakes…. sincere not found in whole my life a wow company …. mean call George Lucas to be the sculptural architect designer of this thing or even oscar niemeyer could have been doing it better
I dont know but like the mix of organic shapes, costs more to do… but… common it is the design dept.
Thank god the gentleman in the picture is wearing a mask. Gotta be safe when designing ugly electric vehicles. Honestly I am shocked GM is actually moving into California when a ton of businesses are moving out.
… but considering the Truck he is doing… at Warren.. oh yeah… he was full lucky to get the job…
I just got offered a job in California. Turned it down. Not worth it. You are cutting out a lot of your employement options by putting it in California….. and more by putting it in a city like Pasadena. Beautiful city. Hard to get a house unless GM is forking over a huge moving stipend. What’s wrong with Colorado Springs, Indianapolis or say savanah Georgia? All cities that you can convince the best designers in the world to move to to work. Or am I missing the point….. we’re playing politics and we won’t build a factory in California and we need to keep the state happy cause their so controlling…. So here’s a bone and we build a design center that will still get its orders and design cues from Michigan.
Jake,
Ever been to Detroit? I think California is still miles ahead of where most of gm’s staff is located. Talk about a disincentive…the once thriving Motor City is a much bigger disincentive than California although I do agree The Golden State ain’t what it used to be and there are better places to live. Still, I think the State does still represent the capital of the car culture and sets design trends for the nation. Plus, and most importantly, they have an excellent automotive design school (Art Center College of Design) in Pasadena that would act as a feeder institution for employees at gm’s Design Center. Few cities on the globe can boast of that benefit.
this …. they have an excellent automotive design school (Art Center College of Design) in Pasadena
it was also… people like Dean, Scott Robertson, John Berkey etc are past too
now are the new generations … the talent is not the same … now is more like any other business… the glamour was lost
“”” what is wrong with Colorado Springs, Indianapolis or say savanah Georgia? “””
Colorado Springs has no wonderful beaches, not at seaside to appreciate sundown promenade ships
Indianapolis has no wonderful beaches, not at seaside to appreciate sundown promenade ships
savanah Georgia has no wonderful beaches, not at seaside to appreciate sundown promenade ships
all. like San Diego or so
They aren’t moving to California, its just a design center they have in California, this location replaces another location, GM has had a design center in California since the late 80’s.
GM has had an advanced design studio presence in SoCal since 1983.
No idea where you get your lack of information from.
Other carmakers have built advanced studios in SoCal around the ’80s.
And there’s many EV makers in California now.
Boring. Uninspiring. Forgettable. Just like their cars. Shame.
and yet, you’re still surfing this blog.
… fully agree… GM is another past company … when once it was a was…
see a 1965 GM Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham …. when Cadillac was a name.
and then see a 2022 GM Cadillac Lyriq, to understand.
From this box can just come a Hummer H1… in shape… none streamliner… elegant… of course not … even if has a grass field, none inspiration comes… but ok, the designers today are the online courses… diploma
we will never have a Bob Ross, a Sydney Jay Mead futurist, a Lee Iaccoca, another U2 Talent again… cars are gone…
Ever seen a Toyota? WV? Audi?
I guess for real excitement and brilliance in styling, one buys a Toyota.
I consider Rolls Royce Goodwood very normal… very boxy… and it is a RR… mean the cars and building could be more WOW, but they are not… so my words for this brown block… even has some hospitals around better
see the Royal Adelaide Hospital and take your conclusions
I did not mean the Goodwood facility was architecturally significant. I meant that it is a “home” for the brand. Cadillac, I thought, needed a home or a plant dedicated to only crafting Cadillacs. Instead a Cadillac goes down a nondescript gm assembly line just like a Chevy. If they had a Goodwood-like home of their own, they could “craft” Cadillacs to a higher standard by the very best people at gm and promote them as being special because of this.
i know, understood well
put in google images
futuristic factory headquarters or just futuristic factories you gonna understand
even in minecraft has better architecture
but could be a studio with an impressive garden with pools, cascade, flowers, palace like which would be ok… maybe a mix of renaissance with glassy walls,, domes, spheres, pyramids, octaedrons … ok do an emirates palace to design cars,,,, much appropriate for a cadillac
this box is more to design a Ford T or A if even so… no a Trabant maybe
we have many films as examples, like The Robots, animations… it is not possible they come with a cheap mc donalds of gas station like that to do man… styling… can u imagine….
what i m saying … even the
MCDONALD’S, Roswell – 1804 S Main St
is 199999 times much better, attractive you know
They could have mimicked the new McClaren centre at Woking. Better facility and better appearance cars.
yep… i really did not understood this change of address of GM…
old and new building has almost same architecture and sq²… if you take the school art college over there, as middle point reference, then the old is 15 km left distant and the new one 10 km right distant located
so all the same … do not understand a why
if is gonna to change, to invest for something new, then for doing some much more… but doing the same is nonsense
The new facility is THREE times the size of the current one, which has 1950’s architecture and is a former Orowheat bread factory. It has had continual building issues. As well as Burbank Airport noise, and homeless and gang issues around the entrances.
The new facility is not a gloried architectural homage, NO other Southern California vehicle design studio is.
Take a Google Map tour of the other facilities, all of the action happens inside the tilt-up architecture.
sincere this building seems a carrefour or furniture store in uzbekistan or marroc .. even an Ikea has more character
And just by coincidence, right, the new GM Design Center is a few minutes drive from the campus of the Art Center College of Design, also in Pasadena, the leading school for training new transportation designers. Talented young graduates, used to the laid-back California lifestyle, no longer need fear transitioning to Michigan’s frigid winters. They just need to pack up their laptops and Chartpak markers and move their flip-flops and surfer shorts across town.
truth .. a school who made Christopher Bangle … Bangle Butt and many other interesting designs at BMW … now see the BMWs… after 20 years lost…do not know but BMW which went to Pasadena and pforzheim to get only guys studying there… lost this desire too… why ? now they take mexicans, iraq etc people but never Brazilian, of course Brasil is just Samba, soccer, favela etc according them—-
and now Chris Bangle lives in Toscana Italy in a farm, did not went back to California… made a beauty Fiat Coupe but made a Car Mixer for China too and disappeared after … people says Samsung huuummm
Good move. Hollywood has become trashy.
Although the new GM design center in Pasadena looks like the new public library building in West Overshoe, Iowa.
If you go on google earth, it looks like this is a heavy remodel of an existing building and not a ground up new construction, I mean everyone is free to cry about it as much as they like of course……
^^^ yeah saw that, indeed a very old building, very cheap move from GM…
if were in 1995 .. would not mind a transfer from S. Caetano to live in House 34° 9’24.37″N 118° 4’55.17″W to go cross the road on feet to work and meet only 70 colleagues… then maybe today a Design Director ?… who knows how alien live are
Interstate 5 Irvine. Little Detroit. Lots of auto aftermarket folks in So Cal. The home of auto drive in restaurants too. Motor city west. Beats Detroit weather hands down. California Beach boy culture. Detroit’s gangland is Black. So Cals gangland is Hispanic. Two different worlds. Two different sunshines. Creativity in better weather and terrain.