The centerpiece of the 20-year revitalization of Ford’s historic River Rouge complex provides workers with abundant natural light and fresh air and restores native habitat to the site. Inside the plant, wood flooring reduces stress on workers’ feet and legs while light monitors and skylights ensure that work areas receive daylight. An innovative air delivery system reduces the need for duct work, and mezzanine-level walkways house team rooms, a cafeteria, and a dining room above the main work areas. The plant’s 10-acre vegetative roof—the largest installation of its kind in the United States—provides aesthetic and operational benefits that include restoration of native habitat, effective thermal and acoustic insulation, and improved air and water quality.
William McDonough + Partners, Design Architect
Arcadis Giffels, Architect of Record, Civil MEP and Structural Engineers
Walbridge Aldinger, Construction Manager
Ford Rouge Center Landscape Master Plan
Publications:
"William McDonough's Green Remodel of the Ford Rouge River Factory" from 2nd Green Revolution April 2009
"Can this man's chimney save the planet?" from Fortune November 2006
"Ford Motor Company Initiates Era of Sustainable Manufacturing" from Tradeline, March 30, 2005
"High Fashion Factories" from Fortune October 2004
"New War on Waste" from Time August 2002