This is largely off topic, but I read a fascinating article in MotorTrend the other day while sitting in a doctor's office. It was all about Ed We... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
That's a really sharp looking office! Eero Saarinen is also known for the design of the St.Louis arch. Some of his furniture is on display there in the museum. Really wild stuff. Kudos to GM for keeping some tradition around over there!
Beautiful. The phone and the tach-pod mounted clock are top notch! It's great to see that much of it has survived through today, but that plasma tv, all the little nick-nacks on the desks, the modern office chair behind the desk, and the corvette dog sure look out of place. The beauty of the original office was not only in the design elements, but also in the simplicity. Kind of like looking at a vintage race car. Simple, clean, and built for a single purpose.
That office is pimp. I'd work there. (And see'n how it was Harley Earl's, I say this is hardly off-topic).
Ryan - Ed is a truly fascinating man. I met him last year at Pebble Beach. He really has single handedly saved many of the show cars securing the heritage of the company. He also mentioned to me that he had to scrounge around to collect the contents of that office. He understands the history and importance that the things of the past have on the outlook of the future. While GM is going through turmoil, at least the design and history of GM are in good hands.
A story that I heard about years ago was that Bill Mitchell caught a Blue Marlin and wanted the color fade from blue to white to be used on the Manta Ray Corvette. He had the stuffed fish hung on his office wall and brought the painters up and said he wanted them to match the fish colors on the car. The car painters did the car several times but Mitchell didn't think they had it right, and made them do it over and over. Finally they snuck in and stole the fish, took it back to the paint shop and painted it to match the car. When Mitchell saw the car he said, "well, you finally got it right."
Dang this place is amazing. Cadillacs are amazing vehicles as well I have owned a few in my time a 86 Sedan deville, 03 STS, most recently a 04 deville DTS black on black.
Yes that office is really cool, I love the phone and ashtray, and the.. well I just pretty much want the whole thing in my house
Back when style and function were no mutually exclusive. Very cool. Wonder what it will go for at the bankrupcy sale?
Those are great pictures, the design of the furniture to be functional with style is perfect. Some things always look good no matter when they were made.
Wow that's a sad thought... I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Welburn and he was a very laid back and down to earth guy. Meanwhile his designers were being drunken bragging jackasses... He is one lucky SOB to get to work in that office though. He earned it.
The GM tech center has more than one office full of mid century modern furnishings, the place is awesome. Design was king in the day weather it was a car or a piece of fine furniture. Carefull Ryan it is addicting.
Hey Ryan, just my opinion but I think where history and tradition happened is just as on topic as what happened. FWIW I'm sort of stuck in that time period and style, late 50s to mid 60s. Lots of really cool things in those days like building futuramic stuff with old school organic skills and mat'ls. Thanks for adding it the Journal.
This is a great example of a ... Mid-Century modern office with , Eames , Herman Miller and Danish furniture .... My dream office .... Great post Ryan .....
there was an amazing Saarinen Exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. last year.. it was amazing and had a large display with floor to ceiling images just on the GM Tech Center... it had promo videos touting the integration of the building desing and the GM auto design process.. really cool stuff! http://www.nbm.org/exhibitions-collections/exhibitions/eero-saarinen-shaping-the-fut.html
here's a video about the exhibit, I think it's still traveling around the country... if you like early 60's cars and the GM Design Center... you really should check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwTJqf9Cv14 Working in the field.. architecture just does it for me, as much as cars! hahaha
I was thinking those exact words while I was looking through the photos. As someone else mentioned about form and function not being mutually exclusive... this place does look both beautiful and comfortable at the same time.
Before you all tar and feather me, let me say I love the design of all that stuff as much or more than a lot of folks BUT might there be a subconsious corrolation between the saroundings at GM and the problems the company has been involved in from the 1970's to today? Does the corporate culture that doesn't change the furnature for 50 years also stiffle foward thinking in the engineering and product development areas? Just wondering...
The Jalopy Journal
