Ford Motor Company Campus Workplace Master Plan
Ford’s Dearborn campus was having trouble recruiting talent and connecting current employees. Our team saw the power of previously designed company campuses like Google and Microsoft and knew that a transformation with an emphasis on connectivity and amenities would help make Ford’s headquarters a relevant and desirable place to work.
Client
Ford Motor Company
Location
Dearborn, Michigan
Markets/Services
Architecture, Corporate Headquarters & Campuses, Workplace Strategy, Urban Environments, Urban Planning, Workplace
Size
9,500,000 SF
Featured Awards
American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) -- Michigan Chapter, Award of Excellence - Analysis and Planning
Ford is no longer just a car company. It’s no longer just about manufactured movement, or aluminum-clad transportation. It has shifted gears and gotten to the root of its mission: mobility.
With this newfound self-discovery, the legendary automobile company wanted to recreate its Dearborn campus; if Ford was indeed a mobility company, its employees would have to be mobile, free to move, untethered by infrastructure and outdated design.
The plan was to consolidate Ford’s operations, distilling 30,000 employees from over 70 buildings into two primary campuses: The Ford World Headquarters and the Re-search and Engineering Center, the latter of which would increase the number of employees from 12,000 to 24,000.
The two campuses not only reflect the location’s focus on products and administration, but enhance communication and connectivity between teams, with trails, bike paths, and walkways.
Our team was chosen to implement this vision and hone the design concept to delineate exactly what Ford’s employees needed. Through an extensive interview process of over 200 employees, our team dug to uncover the processes that the campus’ cur-rent design overlooked. From these interviews, a collective palette was identified. Employees wanted collaborative spaces, flexible work stations, recreation opportunities, an abundance of natural light.
The re-creation of Ford’s headquarters and product design center is scheduled to be completed by 2023, but the wait is sure to be worth it. Once finished, Ford’s Dearborn Campus will rival that of all the major players — both tech and auto — and will embody an innovation nucleus, practicing the very mobility that it preaches.