The Sustainability Showcase building is expected to actually produce more energy than it uses.
Ford Motor Co. plans a complete makeover of its corporate headquarters and nearby product development operations as part of the first complete overhaul since the early 1950s.
The move will see Ford tear down, update or replace 70 current buildings and fill the new campus with the latest in high-tech research and collaborative communications technologies. About 30,000 employees will be impacted by the two-phase project set to get underway this week.
The project is meant to “drive innovation in every part of our business,” explained CEO Mark Fields during a media web conference, and support Ford’s remake of its own corporate business plan, shifting from being a car manufacturer to what Fields has dubbed a “mobility company.”
Currently, Ford’s headquarters operations are clustered together in two complexes, one anchored by the corporate headquarters often called Glass House, and the other about a mile away, where most research, engineering and design work is done.
The new campus makeover will put an emphasis on communications and collaborative workspace.
The first stage of the project will focus on the Ford Research and Engineering Center Campus that was formally dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower back in May 1953. The complex currently houses 12,000 employees but will ultimately accommodate 24,000 in 4.5 million square feet of new or renovated work space.
That will include a new 700,000 square-foot Design Center meant to be a focal point of the project. The current Design Showroom will be upgraded and transformed into an event venue.
Ford officials said the plan calls for about 50 buildings to remain after the extensive makeover, though the final count is in flux and depends upon how some interconnected buildings will be counted.
The project will put a premium on sustainability, Fields emphasized. One of the buildings, dubbed the Sustainability Showcase, will be powered by both geothermal and solar power and is being billed as a “net zero-waste, net zero-energy, net zero-water facility.”
“This project incorporates thoughtful ways to improve the environmental footprint of our facilities, while creating a vibrant workplace that inspires our employees,” said Ford Chairman Bill Ford.
Surface parking lots will be replaced by multi-story decks and lots of new green spaces.
Current surface parking lots will be eliminated, Ford switching to multi-level facilities with smaller footprints, and transforming much of the remaining campus into park-like space featuring walking and bike paths to link the new buildings. There will also be outdoor softball and soccer fields.
The maker also plans to have bike-sharing and ride-sharing operations to let employees quickly move around the updated complex.
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The second phase in the makeover will begin in 2021, and will include a major update of the Ford World Headquarters building dedicated in 1956, as well as surrounding buildings such as the offices of Ford Credit.
The current Ford operations in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn have developed in a pretty much ad hoc fashion over the last 60 years, but Donna Inch, Chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Land Development Corp., said the goal is a much more “holistic approach.”
That includes not only the design and layout of the buildings, spearheaded by SmithGroupJJR, but also the way things will operate inside the new complex.
The project is believed likely to cost over $1 bil. Ford says it will be completed in 2026.
The goal is to set up a more open workspace for employees, with large numbers of shared spaces, as well as meeting rooms where workers can gather, perhaps on the fly, to discuss idea or work out solutions to problems.
Individual workspaces will feature adjustable desktops that can be raised or lowered to a comfortable height, whether someone is sitting or standing.
The new complex will make extensive use of wired and wireless data links and will be designed so that employees can move around the two campuses and readily have access to all the digital files that they might normally have at their desks.
“You really need to bring your virtual office with you as you move around the campus,” said Ford Chief Information Officer Marcy Klevorn.
Among other things, the focus on technology will be meant to encourage workers to think about Ford as more than just a car company.
The original Ford complex was announced in 1946 and completed seven years later.
The 113-year-old Ford has been expanding its emphasis on things like infotainment and autonomous driving and even announced a deal earlier this year with Amazon to allow in-car access to Alexa, the tech firm’s digital voice assistant. Alexa can now be used through devices like the Amazon Echo to check weather, sports scores, set alarms and operate a home’s lights and thermostat.
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Ford officials did not reveal the ultimate price tag for the project, and that could depend upon the new technologies that will be worked into the project during its lengthy implementation –the project currently set to be completed in 2026. But a report in the Detroit Free Press cited outside experts who believe Ford will spend at least $1.2 billion.
Cross-town rival General Motors is in the midst of its own $1 billion makeover of its Technical Center complex in the Detroit suburb of Warren. And GM continues to invest millions in its headquarters building in downtown Detroit.
Japanese rival Toyota is in the midst of completing its new North American headquarters complex in Plano, Texas, while it has just announced a new campus for its advanced Toyota Research Institute in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Honda has been relocating key operations from California to Ohio, and Daimler AG is completing the move of its Mercedes-Benz U.S. operations from northern New Jersey to Atlanta.
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