Cadillac has announced the development of Cadillac House at Vanderbilt, a cutting-edge facility dedicated to providing an individualized, bespoke client experience for the Cadillac CELESTIQ, the world’s premier all-electric ultra-luxury sedan.
Situated on the modernist-style General Motors Global Technical Center campus in Warren, Michigan, Cadillac House at Vanderbilt invites clients to collaborate personally with CELESTIQ designers and a concierge for an unparalleled custom commission experience. Cadillac will commence selecting client engagements in late spring, with the facility welcoming its first clients in late summer 2023.
“Every CELESTIQ is personally commissioned, and working on-site with our Cadillac designers offers clients an elevated experience,” said Bryan Nesbitt, Executive Director for Global Cadillac Design. “It’s a unique opportunity to collaborate with our design team, enabling clients to directly translate their vision of their CELESTIQ into a one-of-one piece of moving sculpture.”
Cadillac House will be named in honor of pioneering designer Suzanne Vanderbilt, one of the few women in the automotive design industry during her time. She joined GM Design in 1955, shortly before the Global Technical Center was inaugurated, and worked in the Cadillac studio. Her early work included designing two unique vehicles: the 1958 Eldorado Seville Coupe, known as Baroness, and the Cadillac Saxony convertible. She worked collaboratively with the Advanced Interior and Research Studios, designing safer vehicle interiors and obtaining two patents. Over the years, she provided crucial mentorship to the next generation of women designers before retiring in 1977.
The Global Technical Center, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2014, is an icon of midcentury design and set the standard for the modern American corporate campus. It was the first major commission awarded to the celebrated modern architect Eero Saarinen.
The building housing Cadillac House at Vanderbilt, located directly across the lake from the main entrance, initially served as Central Restaurant and was an open space where the brightest creative and technical minds convened to collaborate and design the future of transportation. In 1955, the design won an Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Saarinen’s signature graceful modernist style is expressed through carefully balanced proportions, elongated horizontal orientation, and purity of materials such as travertine and terrazzo slabs, wood panels, and stainless steel details. Distinguished from other Global Technical Center campus buildings, the elegant, single-story structure maximizes aesthetic views. A stepped-floor elevation and glass curtain wall provides a panoramic view of the campus, featuring its iconic dome, new GM Design building, lake, and the Alexander Calder-designed fountain.
A large-scale, sculptural screen of shimmering gold designed by Harry Bertoia is the most notable feature of Cadillac House at Vanderbilt — one of only a few created by the Italian-born, Detroit-based artist and designer. Measuring 36 feet long and 10 feet tall, it comprises individual enameled steel plaques coated in molten metal by Bertoia for artistic effect. Bertoia was one of the leading lights of midcentury modernism invited by Saarinen to collaborate on the project as a design consultant or artist.
The personalization experience at Cadillac House at Vanderbilt is available to CELESTIQ clients worldwide. It includes a one-on-one concierge experience to guide clients through the personalization process, granting them access to a Cadillac designer and additional exclusive services. For those participating virtually, their journey remains highly personalized and begins at Cadillac House.
“From start to finish, the process is meticulously curated,” said Melissa Grady Dias, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Cadillac. “And regardless of where clients choose to collaborate with the Cadillac team, we will offer an extraordinary variety of commission options, ensuring every desire for their vehicle can be fulfilled. Each CELESTIQ is tailored to reflect its owner’s tastes, which are conveyed directly to the design team.”
In addition to the client’s CELESTIQ Certified Dealer of choice, a concierge will lead selected clients through a design consultation process dedicated to guiding them through every aspect of the journey.
In addition to Cadillac House at Vanderbilt, every CELESTIQ will be constructed at the Artisan Center, another facility on GM’s 67-year-old, 710-acre campus globally recognized as the preeminent innovation center for automotive engineering, design, and advanced technology.
Within the Artisan Center’s walls, a handpicked team of highly talented artisan makers united in their vision for perfection will handcraft each client’s CELESTIQ from the ground up. This process is a return to the bespoke craftsmanship that established Cadillac’s legacy as the Standard of the World over a century ago.
The CELESTIQ is expected to be delivered to clients in late spring 2024. Production will be extremely limited, and the CELESTIQ will be available exclusively through inquiry.