Kia Motors America (KMA) has announced the official opening of the company’s new 22-acre site in Irvine, California.  The $130-million investment is home to the KMA Headquarters and new state-of-the-art Kia Design Centre America (KDCA).

The opening ceremony was hosted by Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of Kia Motors America (KMA) and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) who said: “The investment in our new corporate campus reaffirms our commitment to the United States market and California.  Our new U.S. Corporate Headquarters and Design Centre enables us to develop products specifically for Kia that are designed and tuned for North American consumers.”

Now fully operational, the Irvine campus currently employs approximately 400 permanent full-time employees and has the potential to house almost 600 employees at full capacity.  The corporate headquarters is a custom-built facility and home to the KMA U.S. sales division, as well as its marketing, public relations, consumer affairs, technical service, research and development, product planning and administration departments.  The new facility also houses the KMA western region office and IT services.

Based at the new site is the design team behind American models Borrego (called Mohave in some markets) and KOUP and more recently, the SOUL which is set to hit European markets early next year.

The design team had tremendous input into the 100,700 square-foot design centre to ensure an aesthetically and physically functional layout that encourages creativity.   It consists of a design studio, a modeling studio that allows up to eight vehicle models to be worked on simultaneously, a milling shop featuring a Zimmerman computerized milling machine, a 2-D presentation room, a colour and trim room, a wood/metal shop, a 3-D presentation room that features clearstory windows to allow for viewing indoors under natural light, a paint booth, a private outdoor viewing courtyard, a recreation room, a research library, four conference rooms and a secure, underground garage.

Tom Kearns, Kia Motors U.S. chief designer commented, “By establishing the first Kia-exclusive U.S. design Centre, we can take advantage of the tremendous design talent and inspiration provided by the Southern California car culture in a functional environment set up to maximize our designers’ abilities and creativity. KDCA will produce stylish new vehicles that will impact the new design direction for Kia Motors worldwide.”

The Irvine site was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP in partnership with the City of Irvine to serve as a distinctive architectural gateway to the city and an example of eco-friendly building.  The 239,000 square-foot modern glass and steel main structure features a 36,000 square-foot reflecting pool visible to drivers on Interstate 5 when coming into the city.

The new building also demonstrates environmental awareness as Kia was one of the first companies in Irvine to voluntarily install a bioswale system in its car park to remove silt and pollution from surface water runoff.  The landscaping features drought-resistant plants, and reclaimed water is used for landscaping irrigation and toilets.  In addition, the exterior glass of the building meets the California Energy Commission’s requirements for energy efficiency standards.