Today, Ford Motor Company announced plans to transform its multitude of Dearborn office spaces over the next 10 years, creating two new, modern campuses for its 30,000 or so local employees.
The plans encompass a new Product Campus with some 4.5 million square feet of workspace, and a Ford World Headquarters Campus with 1.3 million square feet of reworked space, built around the automaker’s existing Glass House. The campuses will feature plenty of green spaces, new structures, and transportation options taken straight from the Smart Mobility playbook, such as the company’s on-demand shuttle pilot program.
“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,” said Ford CEO Mark Fields. “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.”
Ford Product Campus
Ford’s current Research and Engineering Campus will undergo extensive renovations starting this month, and ought to be mostly finished by 2023. The campus currently houses approximately 12,000 full-time employees, but will be able to accommodate twice that after work is finished. It will continue to serve as a pilot location for many of the automaker’s Smart Mobility solutions, including on-demand shuttles, eBikes, and autonomous vehicles. The all-new, 700,000 square-foot Design Showroom will continue to be a focal structure.
Much is bound to change, however, as Ford plans to create a central green space on the new Product Campus, with trails, bike paths, and covered walkways. In a show eco-friendliness, sustainable technologies like geothermal heating and cooling, rainwater capture, and efficient, automated water metering will be widespread. The historic Ford Design Showroom will be upgraded to host future events.
Ford World Headquarters Campus
Work on the World Headquarters Campus is not scheduled to begin until 2021, nor reach completion until 2026 – a full decade from now. Plans for this new campus include erecting a brand-new Ford Credit facility connected to the World Headquarters, outdoor recreation fixtures like softball and soccer fields, and improved green spaces, including a renewal of the Arjay Miller Arboretum started by Ford’s then-president in 1960.
Throughout all of Ford’s renovation plans is a focus on sustainability and ecology – central to the forward-thinking image that the automaker would like to convey. Executive Chairman Bill Ford said of the 10-year project: “Just as the Rouge manufacturing renovation completed in 2003 set a new standard for sustainability, we expect to do the same as we transform our campuses into a modern, efficient complex that enhances the environment.
“This project incorporates thoughtful ways to improve the environmental footprint of our facilities, while creating a vibrant workplace that inspires our employees.”
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