Book Smart

A reimagined building in Detroit allows tech centre Newlab to reimagine the future of mobility

- By Pei-Ru Keh

Detroit recently welcomed the first phase of Michigan Central, a sprawling, 30-acre walkable hub in the city’s Corktown neighbourhood. Named after the historic railway station acquired by the Ford Motor Company in 2018 following decades of neglect, the hub will encompass a mix of new and revitalised buildings, offering facilities for city, regional and international inventors and investors to work with civic and government leaders to ambitiously address the future of mobility innovation.

The first out of the gate, housed in a former book depository, opened at the end of April. Originally designed in 1936 by Albert Kahn, the building was initially used as a post office, but was later taken over by Detroit Public Schools for book storage, before being abandoned following a fire in 1987. The building now stands reincarnated as the Detroit headquarters of Newlab, a global innovation centre that provides prototyping labs and purpose-built workspaces for its community of members. The new space will eventually house hundreds of entrepreneurs, inventors and companies focused on next-generation solutions in mobility.