General Motors Technical Center

The initial period of construction of the Technical Center was 1949 to 1956, as defined by the start of construction of the first building and the completion of the last building to be constructed prior to the formal dedication of the Technical Center on May 13, 1956. During this period, seven major complexes of buildings were constructed at the Technical Center; Eero Saarinen was the architect for five of these complexes and a consultant for two that were designed by GM's Argonaut Realty Division.

The General Motors (GM) Technical Center is a campus with fifteen complexes of buildings and numerous outbuildings located on an approximately 600-acre site in Warren, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. With over 18,000 employees, it serves as the main facility for advanced research, engineering, and product design for GM, the largest corporation in the world. Stretching nearly a square mile across a horizontal landscape, this rectangular shaped property is bounded by Van Dyke Avenue and Mound Road on the east and west, respectively, and Chicago Road and 12 Mile Road on the north and south, respectively. There is a small appendage to the grounds across 12 Mile Road to the south.

In terms of size and layout, the Technical Center resembles a large university campus more than an industrial facility. In fact, no manufacturing goes on at the Technical Center and its campus-like plan is intended to further the work of the highly specialized GM scientists, engineers, designers, and technicians who work there.