Argonaut Building
Encyclopedia
The Argonaut Building, renamed in 2009 the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education (originally the Argonaut, or General Motors Research Laboratory), is a large office building located in the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan
. The building is located at 485 West Milwaukee Avenue, and is located across the street from Cadillac Place
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2005.
building, and uses primarily brick
and limestone
in its materials.
, which operated from Cadillac Place
across West Milwaukee Street. General Motors recently donated it to the College for Creative Studies
in Detroit, Michigan. It is in use as both a charter high school for art-centric children, as well as CCS's planned graduate program. On top of these uses, CCS moved much of their Industrial Design Undergraduate program to this location, providing the space for a larger student body, and subsequently larger program. In addition, the building houses approximately 300 in student housing. The $145 million renovation was completed in fall 2009.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. The building is located at 485 West Milwaukee Avenue, and is located across the street from Cadillac Place
Cadillac Place
Cadillac Place is an ornate high-rise class-A office complex in the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan constructed of steel, limestone, granite, and marble between 1919 and 1923 and was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1985. The building houses several agencies of the State of Michigan...
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2005.
Description
The building was constructed in 1928 and finished in 1930. The high-rise stands at 11 floors, with 10 above-ground and one basement level. The height to the main roof is 42.7 meters (140 feet), and 56.3 metres (180 feet) to the top of the elevator tower. The 275-unit structure structure is an Art DecoArt Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
building, and uses primarily brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
in its materials.
History and Renovations
This building, designed by Albert Kahn, was a former laboratory building for General MotorsGeneral Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, which operated from Cadillac Place
Cadillac Place
Cadillac Place is an ornate high-rise class-A office complex in the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan constructed of steel, limestone, granite, and marble between 1919 and 1923 and was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1985. The building houses several agencies of the State of Michigan...
across West Milwaukee Street. General Motors recently donated it to the College for Creative Studies
College for Creative Studies
College for Creative Studies is an art education institution in the United States and was cited by BusinessWeek as one of the 60 best design schools in the world. It is a private, fully accredited, four-year college located in Detroit, Michigan...
in Detroit, Michigan. It is in use as both a charter high school for art-centric children, as well as CCS's planned graduate program. On top of these uses, CCS moved much of their Industrial Design Undergraduate program to this location, providing the space for a larger student body, and subsequently larger program. In addition, the building houses approximately 300 in student housing. The $145 million renovation was completed in fall 2009.