Cadillac Place Building Entrance Renovation

Cadillac Place is a fifteen-story, mixed-use building designed by Albert Kahn and completed in 1922. Formerly known as the General Motors Building, it served as the world headquarters for General Motors from 1923 to 2001 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. It underwent a massive renovation from the DTMB in 2011. The facility is open to the public and is home to retail spaces as well as State Agencies, including the Michigan Court of Appeals for District 1.

The project was driven by the need for the main entrances to be accessible and compliant with egress codes.  Prior to the design of construction documents, Forbes conducted a study of all the building entrances for accessibility egress compliance; this allowed the State to secure funding for the renovation scope which includes replacing the three revolving doors off of Grand Boulevard with swinging doors as well as replacing the bank of doors off Cass and Second Avenue.  The decorative rotunda of the revolving doors remained, and the new exterior doors were centered in the rotunda with bronze panels on either side, respecting the symmetry of the original design. The rotunda acted as small vestibules, and new glass enclosures with interior doors were designed to be as transparent as possible so as not to detract from the original design.