Best Project and Best Project Finalist Renovation/Restoration: Book Depository
Built in the 1930s, the building was originally the city’s main post office and later used by the Detroit Public Schools for storage of books and supplies. After a fire in 1987, the Book Depository sat vacant and open to the elements for decades. Purchased by Ford in 2018, renovation began in 2021.
The team repositioned the 270,000-sq-ft building to meet the demands of today’s top innovators with an adaptive and flexible workplace, ample access to daylight, open and internal connectivity and destinations for exchange. The design team aimed to retain the integrity of the existing structure, working to keep as much in place as possible.