flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

The birthplace of General Motors

Reconstruction Awards

The birthplace of General Motors

The automotive giant salvages the place from which it sprang, 131 years ago.


By Robert Cassidy, Executive Editor | November 27, 2017

When William Crapo “Billy” Durant and Josiah Dallas Dort leased a cotton mill in Flint, Mich., in 1886 for their new carriage-building business, no one could have predicted that, 22 years later, Durant would gain control of Buick Motor Company from its founder, David Dunbar Buick, and form General Motors Company. The old cotton mill, known as Durant-Dort Factory One, is regarded by historians as the place where GM was born.

Over the years, Factory One went through hard times. Four years ago, General Motors formed a collaboration with the Durant-Dort Office Carriage Company Foundation, the Genesee County Historical Society, and Kettering University to save this important piece of Flint and automotive history. GM bought the 30,184-sf building and brought in SmithGroupJJR and Brencal Contractors to turn the building into offices, an archival center, and event space.

By 2014, the National Historic Landmark had seen better days. The grade of the building had fallen 18 inches. Runoff submerged the first floor and eroded the brick masonry bearing walls, causing foundation settling. The project team replaced 17,000 damaged bricks with color-matched substitutes. Five thousand linear feet of mortar, representing 20% of the mortar on the building, was carefully blended to match the color of the existing mixture.

A new roof, new doors, and custom mahogany divided-pane windows were installed. The windows were painted green to match the historic Durant-Dort Carriage Company building across the street.

Portions of the second level dipped 9½ inches. These areas were leveled with a new raised subfloor in which power and data communications were installed. The renovation of the second story now provides a workspace, kitchenette, and meeting areas for GM employees. Factory One also provides space for community groups to rent for events.

The building houses a GM carriage-building and vehicle-manufacturing collection of more than 100,000 documents, some of which date to the late 19th century. To protect the archives from temperature variation and humidity, SmithGroupJJR designed a glass-encased, vapor-sealed room in the center of the building. A mechanical system maintains a temperature of 72° F (plus/minus two degrees) and a relative humidity of 50% (plus/minus 5%).

 

A two-story entry hall A two-story entry hall was carved out of the existing structure. The grade of the original building was 18 inches below what it was in the 1880s, causing water damage, and had to be remediated. Photo: © Jason Robinson Photography.

 

Project Summary

 

Silver Award Winner

Building Team: SmithGroupJJR (submitting firm, architect, AOR, interior architect, SE, MEP). Brencal Contractors Inc. (GC).

Details: 30,184 sf. Total cost: $8.7 million. Construction time: August 2014 to May 2017. Delivery method: Design-bid-build.

 

See all of the 2017 Reconstruction Award winners here

Related Stories

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 27, 2017

Patient friendly: The University of Chicago Medicine Center for Care and Discovery adds 203 new beds

Strict infection control and life safety measures were implemented to protect patients on other floors as work proceeded.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 21, 2017

Honor Guard: San Francisco’s historic Veterans Building pays homage to those who served in World War I and other foreign wars

The Veterans Building houses the War Memorial staff, the city’s Arts Commission, the Opera’s learning center and practice/performance node, the Green Room reception venue, and the 916-seat Herbst Theatre.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 20, 2017

Eyes wide open: Students can see their new home’s building elements

The two-phase project revamped an opaque, horseshoe-shaped labyrinth of seven buildings from the ’60s and ’70s.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 17, 2017

Gray lady no more: A facelift erases a landmark’s wrinkles, but not her heritage

The Building Team restored the granite and terra cotta façade and reclaimed more than 500 double-hung windows.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 17, 2017

Elegance personified: New life for a neglected but still imposing retail/office space

The building was in such disrepair that much of the reconstruction budget had to go toward structural, mechanical, and electrical infrastructure improvements.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2017

Back to the '20s: Coney Island gets a new eatery reminiscent of the past

This project included the restoration of the landmark Childs Restaurant.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 15, 2017

Foyer fantastique: Faded images provide the key to a historic theater's lobby restoration

The restoration relied heavily on historic photos and drawings.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 14, 2017

Hallowed ground: A Mormon temple rises from the ashes of a fire-ravaged historic tabernacle

Parts of the tabernacle’s exterior shell were the only things that survived the blaze.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 13, 2017

Harlem Renaissance: A vacant school provides much-needed housing and a clubhouse for children

Word that PS 186 might be demolished brought out the preservationists, whose letter-writing campaign gained the support of the New York Landmarks Conservancy.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Giants 400

BD+C Awards Programs

Entry information and past winners for Building Design+Construction's two major awards programs: 40 Under 40 and Giants 400



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021