This week, the Ford Motor Company announced that it has teamed up with SmithGroupJJR to centralize its 60-year-old Dearborn, Mich., plant. The company said that it will rebuild 7.5 million sf of work space over a 10-year period, which will shift 30,000 employees from 70 buildings now into two primary locations.
The company will integrate green features and technology into the design. The layout will be walkable, with paths, trails, and covered walkways. Meanwhile, the campus will be able to handle autonomous vehicles, on-demand shuttles, and eBikes. The wireless speeds will be up to 10 times faster than they are now. A new 700,000-sf Design Center will be the highlight of the campus.
Ford said the renovated plant will better serve it during its transition into becoming both an auto and a mobility company. While designing, producing, and marketing automobiles like cars, trucks, and SUVs will be the primary business driver, Ford will also push Ford Smart Mobility, which will focus on connectivity, mobility, and autonomous vehicles.
“As we transition to an auto and a mobility company, we’re investing in our people and the tools they use to deliver our vision,” Ford President and CEO Mark Fields said in a statement. “Bringing our teams together in an open, collaborative environment will make our employees’ lives better, speed decision-making and deliver results for both our core and emerging businesses.”
Related Stories
Industrial Facilities | Jul 25, 2016
Snøhetta, Bjarke Ingels among four finalists for S.Pellegrino bottling plant design
A committee will evaluate proposals in September.
Industrial Facilities | Jun 16, 2016
Western U.S. ports prepare to handle increased shipping from expanded Panama Canal
The expansion of the Panama Canal might make some eastern U.S. ports more attractive to large-vessel operators. But West Coast ports aren’t ready to roll over and play dead just yet.
Movers+Shapers | Jun 16, 2016
THE PANAMAX EFFECT: Panama Canal expansion could trigger an East Coast construction boom
Cities lining the East Coast and Gulf Coast, from New York City to New Orleans, are spending big bucks to accommodate the larger vessels that will now be able to cross a wider and deeper Panama Canal.
Self-Storage Facilities | Apr 20, 2016
Design is now a factor in storage wars
Self-storage facilities are blending into neighborhoods better, and competing for rentals from women, their primary customers.
Game Changers | Feb 5, 2016
Tesla: Battery storage is not just about electric vehicles
With his $5 billion, 13.6 million-sf Gigafactory, Tesla’s Elon Musk seeks to change the economics of battery energy storage, forever.
Game Changers | Feb 4, 2016
GAME CHANGERS: 6 projects that rewrite the rules of commercial design and construction
BD+C’s inaugural Game Changers report highlights today’s pacesetting projects, from a prefab high-rise in China to a breakthrough research lab in the Midwest.
| Jan 14, 2016
How to succeed with EIFS: exterior insulation and finish systems
This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the six elements of an EIFS wall assembly; common EIFS failures and how to prevent them; and EIFS and sustainability.
Giants 400 | Sep 10, 2015
INDUSTRIAL SECTOR GIANTS: Stantec, Turner, Jacobs among top industrial AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest industrial sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
Industrial Facilities | Sep 3, 2015
DATA CENTER SECTOR GIANTS: Fluor, Gensler, Holder Construction among top data center AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest data center sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
Industrial Facilities | Aug 18, 2015
BIG crowdfunds steam ring prototype for Amager Bakke power plant project
The unusual power plant/ski slope project in Copenhagen will feature a smokestack that will release a ring-shaped puff for every ton of CO2 emitted.
