The Book Depository

Overview

Opportunity

Solution

Impact

Team

Michigan’s first-of-its-kind innovation hub transforms a historic Detroit landmark into a collaborative home for mobility, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Location

Detroit, Michigan

Client

Ford Motor Company, Michigan Central Development

Expertise

Building Transformation & Adaptive Reuse Strategy Technology Consumer Goods Office Developers

Opportunity

Ford envisioned Michigan Central as an innovation district, with the Book Depository serving as an early anchor and catalyst for exchanging ideas, connecting people, and advancing Detroit’s growing mobility and technology ecosystem.

At Michigan Central, Ford Motor Company envisioned an open innovation district capable of attracting startups, engineers, designers, and emerging technology companies to Detroit. The Book Depository offered a powerful anchor: an iconic landmark with deep ties to the city. But decades of vacancy had left it ill-suited to contemporary work. Repositioning the building meant balancing two ambitions — retaining the industrial character that made it distinctive while creating flexible, light-filled environments where people across disciplines could prototype, collaborate, and exchange ideas.

Why This Matters

01
Revitalizing a Landmark
Adaptive reuse gives the long-vacant building a new purpose while retaining the concrete, brick, and industrial character that connects it to Detroit’s architectural history.
02
Building an Innovation Ecosystem
Purpose-built labs, flexible workspaces, and shared gathering areas give startups and industry partners the infrastructure to test ideas, build companies, and work across disciplines.
03
Connecting to Corktown
A more open, activated ground floor helps the building engage its surroundings, creating stronger connections among Newlab members, Michigan Central, and the broader Corktown community.

We set out to create a place that would accelerate Detroit and our region’s role in solving the most pressing mobility challenges and change people’s lives for the better. With the opening of… the first building completed in Michigan Central’s campus, that vision is becoming a reality. We see an opportunity to bring new companies and jobs to Michigan, while also attracting the best and the brightest talent for our industry.

Solution

The design turns connection into infrastructure, creating porosity and circulation through the historic structure while creating flexible spaces for work, prototyping, and exchange.

The design pairs major architectural interventions with a flexible framework capable of evolving alongside changing community, industry, and technology demands. A new atrium and connecting stair bring daylight, visibility, and movement through the historic structure, while adaptable workspaces, labs, and shared environments accommodate emerging uses across mobility and advanced technology. Beyond meeting baseline requirements, the design prioritizes occupant comfort, choice, accessibility, and well-being, creating a resilient landscape that can respond as organizations, workstyles, and technologies continue to change.

From brief to build: transforming a 1936 industrial landmark through daylight, connectivity, adaptive reuse, and a new relationship with the surrounding district.

The design process centered on four priorities: proximity, daylight, activation, and preserving the building’s industrial character. A new atrium and central stair create visual and physical connections across floors while bringing daylight deeper into the building. Former loading dock openings become transparent, community-facing entrances that connect activity inside to the surrounding district. Throughout, historic concrete and brick remain exposed alongside contemporary steel and glass, establishing a deliberate contrast between old and new while allowing the building to accommodate evolving uses.

Blurred Boundary Paseo

Leveraging former loading docks, the paseo softens boundaries between building and district, encouraging visibility, activity, and connection.

Impact

Once vacant, the Book Depository now gives one of Detroit’s architectural landmarks an active new role within Michigan Central’s growing technology ecosystem.

Its transformation brings startups, engineers, and entrepreneurs under one roof while extending the life and legacy of a nearly century-old building.

What Changed Because of This

01
Innovation Hub
Flexible workplaces, prototyping labs, and shared resources give emerging companies a place to develop and test new technologies in Detroit.
02
Activated Community Connection
A transparent, active ground floor creates a more welcoming edge and strengthens the building’s relationship to Michigan Central and the surrounding neighborhood.
03
Preserved Legacy
Adaptive reuse preserves Albert Kahn’s industrial architecture while giving the once-vacant structure a new purpose nearly a century after its construction.

The Book Depository has always been a building with a strong identity. Our goal was to honor that character while creating the openness, flexibility, and connection it needed for a new generation. The result is a place that feels distinctly Detroit — rooted in its history, but DESIGNED FOR WHAT COMES NEXT.

Recognition

01

DEzeen

Dezeen featured Gensler and Civilian's transformation of Detroit's historic Book Depository into Newlab, highlighting the adaptive reuse project's flexible workspaces, prototyping labs, and collaborative innovation hub.

02

ARCHITECTURAL RECORD

Architectural Record highlighted Gensler’s transformation of Albert Kahn’s long-abandoned Detroit Book Depository into Newlab, a dynamic innovation hub for entrepreneurs and startups.

03

DETROIT FREE-PRESS

Inside Ford’s rehabbed Book Depository at Michigan Central.

Team

Project Leadership

Sheryl Schulze

Sheryl is a Principal and Managing Director of Gensler’s Columbus office, where she brings people together around the possibilities of design. A recognized adaptive reuse expert, she helps clients see new potential in existing buildings and turn complex challenges into lasting value.

Lily Diego

Lily is an award-winning Creative Director and Building Transformation & Adaptive Reuse Leader for Gensler’s North Central Region. With more than 25 years of experience, she specializes in creating compelling design narratives and transformative environments that align evolving user needs with business and community goals.

[FPO] Chris Beck

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[FPO] Bruce Findling

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FAQ

01

What was the Book Depository originally built for?

Designed by Albert Kahn in 1936, the building originally served as a post office and mail-sorting facility before becoming the Detroit Public Schools Book Depository.

02

How does the design help organizations work together more effectively?

Visible circulation, open planning, flexible workspaces, and shared amenities encourage interaction and the exchange of ideas across teams and industries.

03

How was the building designed to support startups and emerging technology companies?

The building combines flexible environments, make-spaces, mobility studios, abundant daylight, and connections to the broader Michigan Central ecosystem.

04

How does the project balance historic preservation with modern workplace needs?

Original concrete and brick are preserved and paired with contemporary steel and glass interventions that improve performance and flexibility.

05

How does the Book Depository connect to the surrounding district?

Activated ground-floor spaces blur the boundaries between inside and out. The paseo and northwest entrance lift the building’s monumental, fortress-like façade to create a more open and inviting arrival. Inside, a north-south thoroughfare extends the district’s pathways through the building, connecting parking, the south bridge, and the surrounding neighborhood with the north plaza, Michigan Central Station, Roosevelt Park, and Michigan Avenue.

06

What role does the Book Depository play within Michigan Central?

It serves as a hub for collaboration, experimentation, and idea exchange within Ford’s larger mobility and innovation district.

Related Work

project

The Post Office

Careful restoration and adaptive reuse transformed Chicago's Old Post Office into a modern workplace that honors its architectural legacy and enduring civic significance.