"The glass plant was Kahn's experimental laboratory just like the Rouge site was Henry Ford's lab," said Bill Kroczolowski, architect and head designer of the Detroit division of Arcadis, the Holland-based firm that did the detailed engineering and structural drawings for the renovation project.
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| A smaller pedestrian bridge was built that takes design cues from the original Gate 4 overpass. (Photo: Ford Motor Company) |
Originally, the glass plant was a glass curtain building using very little metal--the exterior glass walls weren't load bearing and seemed to float around the rest of the structure--while being effective at venting the heat generated by its four huge glass-making furnaces. It had a saw-tooth roof design, with raised panels of operable glass, or monitors that let in natural light.
"It provided a more comfortable environment for employees back then," Kroczolowski said. "It let air and light in and excess heat out."
The glass plant's design approach was used on many other buildings, such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Sears Tower in Chicago.
Yet, during earlier renovations, the walls and monitors were covered by metal siding and the glass plant closed in the 1990s. Much of the building was demolished to make way for the new truck plant's body shop, but a 40,000 square-foot section was preserved and restored to near original condition and it will be used as a greenhouse and an industrial shop.
The original Gate 4 overpass had been demolished many years ago after the number of employees at the factory complex plummeted from nearly 80,000 in the 1960s to about 7,000 Ford and 3,000 Rouge Steel workers today. As part of the restoration project, a smaller pedestrian bridge was built that takes design cues from the original, such as 1940s-style lampposts and riveted ironwork.
Near the new overpass is a red brick and gray limestone entry arch, similar to the complex's old entrance, and a memorial to the six men who died after the powerhouse accident.