General Motors Technical Center facts for kids
|
General Motors Technical Center
|
|
.jpg)
The Vehicle Engineering Center (VEC) Tower
|
|
 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Bounded by 12 Mile, Mound and Chicago Rds, and Van Dyke Ave., Warren, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Area | 600 acres (240 ha) |
| Built | 1949 |
| Architect | Eero Saarinen; Thomas Dolliver Church |
| Architectural style | International Style |
| NRHP reference No. | 00000224 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
|
| Added to NRHP | March 27, 2000 |
| Designated NHL | August 25, 2014 |
The GM Technical Center is a huge campus in Warren, Michigan. It belongs to General Motors, a famous car company. Since 1956, this campus has been the main place for GM's engineering work. This means it's where they design and develop new cars and technologies.
In 2000, the Tech Center was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes important places in American history. Later, in 2014, it became a National Historic Landmark. This is an even higher honor, mainly because of its amazing architecture.
Contents
History of the GM Tech Center
The "Tech Center" was designed by a famous architect named Eero Saarinen. Building started in 1949. The first part of the campus was finished in 1955.
On May 16, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower officially opened the facility. It cost about US$100 million at that time. This was a lot of money back then!
Over the years, more buildings were added to the Tech Center. These include the large Vehicle Engineering Center (VEC) and special wind tunnels. There are also areas for developing batteries and a building for pre-production work. This growth happened because cars use more technology now. Also, General Motors wanted to bring all its engineering work to one central place.
What is the GM Tech Center Like?
The "Tech Center" is a very large campus, covering 710 acres in Warren, Michigan. It has 38 buildings and can hold over 21,000 employees.
The campus has roads and tunnels to help people get around. It also has two water towers and two lakes. One lake is at least 22 acres big. These lakes are important because they can be used to fight fires if there's a big emergency. Fire safety has been a top concern for GM since a major factory fire in 1953.
The campus is divided into two main parts by a railroad track. The western side focuses on research, design, and new engineering ideas. The eastern side handles planning, current engineering, and preparing cars for production.
Key Areas on Campus
The Tech Center is organized into different zones for various types of work.
- West Area: This side is home to:
- Research & Development buildings, where new ideas are explored.
- The Metallurgy Building, for studying metals.
- The Administration Building and an exhibition hall.
- The Design Center, where car styles are created.
- The Lake, a central feature.
- Sloan Engineering Buildings (North, Central, and South), for engineering teams.
- The Central Cafeteria, where employees eat.
- Manufacturing Centers (A and B), for planning how to build cars.
- Wind Tunnels, like the Aero Lab and Climatic Wind Tunnel, used for testing car aerodynamics and how they perform in different weather.
- East Area: This side includes:
- Cadillac Headquarters, for the luxury car brand.
- CCO Building (which used to be Chevrolet Headquarters).
- The Vehicle Engineering Center (VEC), a very large building.
- The Advanced Engineering Center (formerly for Powertrain Engineering).
- Pre-production Operations (PPO), where early versions of cars are made.
- A Training Center, for teaching employees new skills.
- The Service Engineering Center, for after-sales support.
- After-sales Engineering, which deals with cars once they are sold.
Why the Tech Center is Architecturally Important
The Tech Center was the first big project for Eero Saarinen after he left his father's company. It helped him become a very successful architect. The way he designed buildings and worked with teams here became a model for his other large projects. He used similar ideas for places like Bell Labs and IBM.
Experts praised his design for the Tech Center right away in 1956. One architect called it "one of the great 20th Century compositions." Another magazine described it as an "Industrial Versailles," comparing it to the famous French palace.
Its important design was the main reason it became a National Historic Landmark in 2014. The American Institute of Architects also honored it in 1986 as the best architectural project of its time.
