General Motors – Advanced Design Studio
Nestled in the Pasadena foothills, General Motors envisioned a bold new home for its Advanced Design Studio — a creative hub dedicated to exploring the future of mobility. More than a traditional automotive design center, the facility serves as an innovation laboratory where designers, sculptors and engineers imagine what personal transportation could look, feel and evoke 10 to 20 years from now.
Boldt transformed a vacant, aging campus into a dynamic destination where more than 100 creative professionals collaborate to envision the next generation of mobility. The design-build project reimagined 81,600 SF of warehouse space into a sophisticated design studio featuring open collaboration areas, conference rooms and support spaces, complemented by a 17,464 SF mezzanine and a 3,440 SF building addition. An industrial fabrication building houses automobile turntables, CNC machines, paint booths, modeling machines and other equipment needed to bring concepts from sketch to full-scale prototype.
Connecting both buildings is a private courtyard designed for vehicle evaluations under natural sunlight. Three rotating turntables display model vehicles from every angle in a secure setting for design reviews, events and collaboration. What started as an adaptive reuse project grew into a lasting partnership, with Boldt remaining on site beyond the initial phase to support ongoing projects and enhancements as GM continued investing in its Advanced Design Studio.
General Motors
Pasadena, California
SmithGroup
General Contractor
Renovation / Addition
127,000 SF
MARKET
Commercial
Project Highlights
- The project includes the construction of an innovation lab within the facility.
- An interface design space was incorporated into the overall layout.
- All existing equipment was relocated from the North Hollywood facility to the Pasadena location.
- Equipment such as bed plates, milling machines and turntables was transported and reinstalled as part of the relocation.
