Ford Announces Dearborn Research & Engineering Center Expansion
Photo: Ford Motor Company
With construction well underway on a massive new campus in Corktown, Ford has announced additional plans for the expansion of its Research & Engineering Center in Dearborn. Initial construction on a new central campus building that will take the place of the current Product Development Center is set to conclude by 2022 with 2025 being targeted for full completion.
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“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 central campus building that will be the focal point of the Research & Engineering Center expansion will result in the co-location of over 6,000 Ford employees primarily from the design and development teams. The objective of the new campus is to create a series of easily accessed, interconnected buildings that house upwards of 20,000 employees. Snøhetta is the lead on the project and operates using Ford’s three core principles of integration, interaction, and co-location.
The project will also move the Dearborn Research & Engineering Center closer to Oakwood Boulevard, which Ford says will improve community engagement and involvement. Ford intends to increase public spaces and pathways around the campus for greater interaction as well as building up common meeting places like coffee shops and restaurants.
Last June, Ford revealed plans to renovate the long-abandoned Michigan Central Station as the central building of a new, 1.2-million-square-foot campus in Corktown. This move, as well as the Dearborn Research & Engineering Center expansion, is intended to give Ford a competitive advantage in recruiting new, upcoming talent.
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