In Pittsburgh’s frothing tech and manufacturing hub, Uber’s 7,500-square-metre facility feels suitably industrial for a space devoted to digital mapping, vehicle safety and autonomous transportation.

Assembly Design Studio honoured the city’s history by accenting the futuristic prototyping plant with generous splashes of distressed Corten steel – a material used for everything from custom detailing to entire walls – much of it upcycled from salvaged materials by local furniture-maker Urban Tree. At the centre, two canted wooden grandstands double as vast stairways leading to the second floor, while in the showroom, the latest self-driving car prototypes are given exalted status: deus in machina.

Project: Uber Advanced Technologies Group

Location: Pittsburgh, U.S.

Firm: Assembly Design Studio, U.S.

Team: Denise Cherry and Liz Guerrero with Justin Ackerman, Sarah Dziuba, Hilary Hanhan, David Hunter, Jeorge Jordan and Alma Lopez