Architecturally unique Kmart HQ in Troy will likely go down as last of its kind

The old Kmart headquarters in Troy began life as one-of-a-kind building, and will soon go down as likely the last of its kind....

The new Troy headquarters was designed by what was then the Detroit-based architectural firm Smith, Hinchman & Grylls Associates.

After it opened in 1972, the Free Press' design critic described how the building was comprised of three-story modular units that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, with an octagonal tower in each corner containing stairways, restrooms and HVAC equipment. Some units had interior glass walls and others were masonry. And between some units were courtyards. {Full-grown trees were originally lowered into the courtyards by helicopter.}...

The building won numerous accolades and architecture awards in the 1970s.

“It won a national design award from the American Institute of Architects, and that is a very rare win. There aren’t many in Detroit that I can think of that have won national AIA awards," said Carl Roehling, former CEO of the SmithGroup architecture firm, which is the successor to Smith, Hinchman & Grylls. "At the time it was unique in many many ways."...

Booker, who began her Kmart career as a computer programmer, recalled how the building's basement housed various IBM mainframe computers that ran on the COBOL language. The basement had strong air conditioners because those big machines ran hot....

A representative for the Forbes Co. this week declined to comment on the company's reasons for pursing demolition or whether efforts were made to reoccupy the building. The Forbes Co. also declined a Free Press request to photograph the interior of the building before demolition....