A team including Gensler and CIVILIAN has completed the adaptive reuse of an old book depository in Detroit. The new center will serve as the headquarters for Newlab, a technology collective hosting startups in the field of decarbonization, energy, mobility, and materials.

The 1936 Albert Kahn-designed building housing Newlab was originally built as a post office and mail-sorting facility, before being used as the Detroit Public School’s Book Depository. The art deco building will now serve as a 270,000-square-foot center with purpose-built labs for 25 companies.

To reimagine the book depository, Newlab commissioned Gensler, CIVILIAN, Ghafari, and MYK to outfit the three-story space with workspaces and labs, complemented by external breakout spaces and landscape design.

“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,” Gensler said about the scheme.

News of the project comes one month after the California College of the Arts inaugurated the new Gensler Center with a special symposium on climate change.