The Commercial Design Award of Excellence is given for the restoration of General Motor’s Design Dome and Auditorium located on their corporate campus in Warren, Michigan. Designed by the world-renowned architect Eero Saarinen and Harley Earl in 1956, both Saarinen and Earl worked closely with the styling team and placed special attention on the spaces concerned with designing, prototyping, and evaluating new automobiles. The 180-foot diameter Dome has become an iconic piece of automotive design and one that organizations from around the world have prototyped for facilities of their own. General Motors initiated the renovation with the design team at SmithGroupJJR, which looked to enhance the Design Auditorium as an evaluation and presentation center for critiquing and displaying the next generation of automotive product design. The overall design intent was not just to modernize the facility but to do so in a manner consistent with the original detailing while implementing sustainable solutions to lower energy and maintenance costs.

General Motors, LLC

Paul Urbanek, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP
Wayne Bills, AIA, LEED AP
Terry Guitar, AIA, LEED AP
Rodrigo Manriquez, IALD, LC, IES
Leland Curtis, LC
Lori James, IIDA, NCIDQ, LEED AP ID+C
Ed Pfannes, PE
Dom Pastore, PE, LEED AP
Mark Goyette
Gerard Gutierrez
Matt Seeley
Ryan Dashkevicz