The Warren Technical Center in Michigan, the first solo project by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, showcased the unity of mid-century architecture, design and engineering in the United States.
Completed in 1956 in a small town outside of Detroit, the headquarters comprises a number of administrative, testing and design facilities for General Motors (GM).
Driven by GM head of design Harley Earl, the campus was meant to create an environment for innovation, with every aspect reflecting the company's high standard of design.
The Warren Technical Center is a hub for General Motor's research divisions
"[Earl] created the first automotive design department that would be able to apply aesthetic considerations to a mass-produced, industrial product," GM curator and archivist Natalie Morath told Dezeen. "This approach to design consideration continued with the Tech Center project and the architecture that would support the organization, from the large scale of the entire campus, down to the smallest detail ? like the chairs that designers sat in ? and was very much a shared priority of Eero Saarinen," she added.
The centre was built in the context of the post-war economic boom in the country, which coincided with many European architects and mass-produced consumer items exploding in popularity.
Eero Saarinen created a masterplan for the campus in the 1950s
Many of the more than 30 buildings designed by Saarinen were rendered in the International Style, ...