Ford to Create Campus
of the Future in Dearborn to Speed Product Innovation and Attract
World-Class Talent
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Ford
details an expanded vision to transform its Research & Engineering Center
in Dearborn; initial construction slated to be complete by the end of 2022
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Master plan
envisions a walkable campus of interconnected buildings that could one day
house more than 20,000 employees in a flexible, high-tech environment
showcasing new mobility solutions such as electrified bikes, scooters and
shuttles
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Design
principles align with Ford’s increasingly human-centered approach to
creating new products and services
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See film of the Future Campus here
DEARBORN,
Mich., Sept. 17, 2019 – Ford Motor Company today detailed an expanded
vision to transform its Research & Engineering Center in Dearborn into a
high-tech, efficient, forward-thinking campus for thousands of its
designers, engineers and product development workers.
The focal point will be a new central campus building which sits on the
site of Ford’s 66-year-old Product Development Center, located on the
northwest corner of today’s Research & Engineering Center. Future home to
Ford’s product development community, initial construction of the new
building will be complete by the end of 2022. Paired with the restoration
of Michigan Central Station in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood into a
collaborative space to create future mobility solutions, the new facility
will help Ford speed product and technology innovation and attract
world-class talent.
Sitting along Oakwood Boulevard, close to downtown west Dearborn and The
Henry Ford Museum, the central campus building will be finished in 2025
and co-locate more than 6,000 Ford employees – mainly designers and
vehicle development teams – creating an inviting, walkable community
entrance to the company’s Research & Engineering campus. Ultimately, the
master plan envisions a campus of interconnected buildings that could one
day house more than 20,000 employees in a flexible, high-tech environment.
“From the Rouge to Highland Park in Detroit to Dagenham in the U.K., Ford
has leveraged innovative workspaces and facilities to inspire our teams to
invent the future,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Hackett. “Our vision
for our Dearborn Research & Engineering campus – and our new Corktown
campus and Ann Arbor robotics lab – will enable Ford to lead the next era
of transportation and personal mobility, and help us continue our founding
mission of driving human progress through the freedom of movement.”
The new master plan framework is the result of a two-year research and
planning process led by Snøhetta as lead architect, landscape architect
and master planner. The plan is based on three core principles –
integration, interaction and co-location – to advance Ford’s vision to
serve customers through a winning portfolio, new propulsion choices,
autonomous technology and mobility services.
Transformation through design
In the last decade, connectivity, automation, electrification and other
technologies have dramatically shifted the automotive and mobility
landscape. The design principles of the master plan go hand in hand with
Ford’s evolving approach to product design and development. Ford
increasingly is leveraging human-centered design and cross-functional
teams to create new products and services and manage product lines as
customer-focused end-to-end businesses.
“We are building workspaces of the future in Dearborn and globally that
will bring all of our people, with their incredible talent and energy,
together in one place,” said Ford Land Chairman and CEO David Dubensky.
“Having all employees in state-of-the-art interconnected buildings will
facilitate a better flow of ideas and catalyze opportunities for
collaboration and knowledge sharing – driving efficient product
innovation.”
The new master plan also transforms community engagement as the Research &
Engineering Center moves closer to Oakwood Boulevard to be more open and
connected to the surrounding neighborhoods. Plans include an increase in
public spaces and shared pathways that bring employees and local residents
together, as well as coffee shops and restaurants that can serve as
meeting places and communal spaces.
The plan envisions an intelligent campus built with flexibility so it can
adapt to changes in the industry and work practices. With more freedom to
decide where and how they want to work, employees can take advantage of
adaptable furniture and flexible workspaces outfitted with the latest
productivity tools and technology.
Movement within the campus will be pedestrian-focused and transit-rich,
connected directly to amenities and networked through a shared
transportation loop, limiting personal vehicle access to the perimeter of
the site. The campus will showcase new mobility solutions such as
electrified bikes, scooters and shuttles, evolving over time as autonomous
vehicles and other transportation emerges.
The design of the architecture and landscapes promotes natural light, high
ceilings and views of nature, keeping employee health and well-being at
the core of the new campus. Amenities will include cafés and restaurants
that prioritize sustainable, local products and farm-to-table food
sourcing. There will be connected outdoor environments people can use
across all seasons, such as pavilions, courtyards and covered walkways.
These broad moves in turn intensify the tree density and wetland landscape
across the remainder of the site. Where possible, natural environments
will be restored to keep the needs of people, vegetation and wildlife in
balance.
“We envision a quilt of interconnected buildings, with Ford teams woven
together in such a way that enables collaboration and innovation in its
transformed workspace,” said Craig Dykers, co-founder of Snøhetta.
“Natural and built environments, employees and communities, moving in one
Ford ecosystem, and connected with the world around it.”
Center of automotive innovation for 66 years
Ford has a long history of creating transformative workspaces that has
enabled it to build world-class products and services and develop
groundbreaking new technologies – from the Highland Park Plant that
delivered the assembly line to the 101-year-old Rouge Complex, which
became the largest and most admired integrated factory in the world.
A vision ahead of its time, the 1946 master plan for the Ford Research &
Engineering Center outlined the company’s first campus solely dedicated to
research and product development and laid the groundwork for Ford’s global
expansion and best-selling product lineup. Dedicated by U.S. President
Eisenhower in May 1953, it is currently home to 11,000 engineers and
designers. The Henry Ford II World Headquarters building followed in 1956,
located along Michigan Avenue within close proximity to Research &
Engineering and the Rouge Complex, providing the birthplace of many modern
management standards.
Over the next half-century, Ford’s Dearborn facilities would continue to
expand along with the company’s growth and product offerings. While the
expertise of its employees became increasingly specialized, the company’s
teams settled into focused, yet dispersed, workspaces throughout Dearborn.
“We are creating centers of excellence globally where talent can thrive,”
said Dubensky. “These will be inviting places for our employees, partners,
businesses and entrepreneurs from around the world to come and work with
us to create tomorrow together.”
The new central building of the revamped Dearborn Research & Engineering
campus is the latest step in Ford’s commitment to reinvigorate
southeastern Michigan as a global hub of innovation for transportation.
The Dearborn campus creates a mobility corridor on Michigan Avenue,
spanning east to Detroit with Ford’s redevelopment of Michigan Central
Station and other nearby properties, and west to Ann Arbor, where the
company’s robotics research lab at the University of Michigan is located.
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