A tour of the new campus with Design Director Brian Smith

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GM’s Bold Vision: Its Pasadena Advanced Design Center

A tour of the new campus with Design Director Brian Smith

Evan Orensten

13 February 2025

General Motors has made a definitive statement about its future with the unveiling of its Advanced Design Center in Pasadena, California. More than a relocation from its former North Hollywood location, it represents a strategic transformation and an ambitious leap toward redefining the intersection of automotive design, technology, and mobility. A nexus of innovation, sustainability, and creative talent, the new Pasadena studio embodies GM’s commitment to shaping the next era of transportation and mobility. Design Director Brian Smith shares the significance of this new facility, delving into its mission, work and state-of-the-art resources.

At the core of the Pasadena center is GM’s advanced design team, a group tasked with pushing the boundaries of automotive aesthetics, functionality, and user experience. Their mission extends beyond creating striking vehicle forms that inform new models; it involves conceptualizing disruptive mobility solutions that challenge industry conventions—a laboratory for the future of mobility.

As Smith explains, the studio focuses on generating “competitive advanced themes,” often in collaboration with GM’s global design hubs, from Michigan, to China and the UK. This cross-pollination of ideas ensures a diverse approach to innovation, strengthening GM’s position at the forefront of mobility design. The Pasadena team plays a pivotal role in GM’s evolution, capitalizing on California’s progressive culture and early technology adoption to anticipate and respond to emerging trends.

A crucial aspect of the studio’s work is exploring and integrating cutting-edge technologies. The team experiments with new visualization tools, leveraging Unreal Engine—software pioneered by the gaming industry—to enhance design realism and efficiency. This commitment to technological advancement builds upon early initiatives from GM’s North Hollywood team, which was among the first to adopt HMD VR headsets for immersive design exploration.

Equally important is talent cultivation. The Pasadena center nurtures the next generation of designers through strategic collaborations with institutions like ArtCenter College of Design (also in Pasadena). One program provides artistically inclined high school students with exposure to automotive design, while a robust internship program immerses emerging talent in hands-on creative development. The goal is to create an environment where designers not only refine their craft but actively redefine the future of mobility.

The new tate-of-the-art facility spans nearly 147,000 square feet on an eight-acre campus, a considerable expansion from its predecessor in North Hollywood. Designed to foster creativity, collaboration, and rapid prototyping, the facility is equipped with open spaces designed for collaboration, and cutting-edge resources that accelerate the design process from concept to reality.

Among its advanced tools are dual-column clay milling stations, expanded modeling plates, and large LED walls for high resolution digital visualization. The milling stations allow designers to transition seamlessly between digital models and physical clay prototypes, while the increased number of modeling plates and fabrication areas enhances production capacity. The facility’s full concept build capability means teams can take ideas from initial sketches to fully functional concept vehicles—all within the same space.

Sustainability is also a core tenet of the new center. Solar panels, battery storage, and EV charging stations support GM’s broader environmental goals. The facility is designed to operate off-grid, aligning with the company’s vision for a cleaner, more sustainable future.

As Design Director, Brian Smith sees the Pasadena studio as a catalyst for change within GM’s global design network. His leadership aligns with the brand’s overarching commitment to achieving “zero crashes, zero emissions, zero congestion”—a philosophy informing every project within the studio’s walls. “California is full of early adopters,” Smith notes. “People here are ready to embrace and evolve technology.” This progressive culture, he believes, provides GM with a unique opportunity to experiment, iterate, and redefine its design language in real time. More than a design center, Pasadena serves as an incubator where unconventional thinking is not only encouraged but essential.

The Pasadena Advanced Design Center is more than an expansion—it is a declaration of intent. With a visionary team, cutting-edge technology, and a facility designed for innovation, GM has positioned itself at the forefront of automotive design’s next chapter. As mobility continues to evolve, this creative hub will play a defining role in shaping what comes next.