General Motors IT Innovation Center Renovation + Expansion

Project Details

Project Description

General Motors (GM) is dedicated to achieving operational excellence at all levels of their organization, employing cutting-edge information technology that ultimately improves the quality of their products and accelerates their time to market. To that end, they opened a number of Information Technology Innovation Centers around the country where their burgeoning group of IT talent can collaborate to advance the automaker’s position at the technological forefront.

GM’s Atlanta-area IT Innovation Center is housed in a former U.S. Postal Service office complex with an attached 81,000 SF distribution center that was initially left vacant. Ghafari was tasked with designing the transformation and expansion of this nondescript warehouse into a modern office environment that could accommodate 500+ additional team members while consolidating several remote offices.

Collaborating closely with client stakeholders while drawing on our understanding of current GM design standards, we developed a design that delivers an open workspace infused with natural light and adds a second-floor mezzanine to provide adequate space for their growing population of IT professionals. Our design breaks up the vast warehouse environment into three neighborhood zones (each accommodating conferencing, collaboration, and support spaces) with a central town commons, mini dealership, and a shipping / receiving area that supports the entire IT Innovation Center. We also repurposed the loading dock bay doors into glass openings for the new town commons.

The end result is a thoughtfully planned work environment that maximizes the available square footage and embraces a clean, contemporary aesthetic punctuated with bold graphics. With this repurposed space, GM can continue to grow their IT capacity, enhance their technological prowess, and drive innovation in their industry.