The Book Depository

Through the respectful revitalization of the old Book Depository, a previously abandoned historic building in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood, Gensler has supported Ford’s efforts to reimagine the Michigan Central Station development. Designed as an innovation nexus that acts as a central node for gathering and idea exchange, the building has been repositioned to meet the demands of the city’s top innovators, including ample access to daylight, open internal connectivity and destinations for exchange, and an engaging ground floor as a connective intersection within the overall development, serving as a boulevard for the community, industry partners, and the neighborhood.

The repositioned 1930’s Albert Kahn building, originally built as the city’s main post office and then used as a Detroit Public Schools Book Depository, is emblematic of today’s evolving workplace — a building that offers the foundation and fabric for users to create a blended, collaborative environment where the lines between traditional desking and adjacencies are increasingly blurred. The reimagining of this historic three-story building was conceptualized to attract innovators, entrepreneurs, emerging technology companies, designers, and technologists to a creative, fluid space designed to flex for future needs.