Kyle Bazemore, a Nissan spokesman, says expansion will increase the size of the existing studio, to include 51,000 sf of interior studio space when construction is complete. The new design center also will incorporate another 17,780 sf of exterior space for private viewings of new designs, Nissan officials say. The new studio is part of the $40-million expansion at the Nissan Technical Center North America campus off 12 Mile Road.

"Nissan's design direction is focused on creating unique, distinctive vehicles, and the expanded structure in Farmington Hills will be unique and distinctive in itself," says Tom Semple, president of Nissan Design. "The architect for this project, Luce Design in San Diego, has captured the focus of our automobile design in this new space. This is a key element to Nissan's global expansion program. As a culture, NDA is intent on design exploration not only in cars, but in everything we do."

The expansion of the local studios adds to the global design capabilities of Nissan, which also has studios in San Francisco, London, England and Atsugi, Japan. Last month, Toyota opened a new design studio in Ann Arbor.