Changes have occurred at several of Ford's other Rouge factories, noted Profitt. The stamping and engine plants received extensive renovations and the old frame plant was renamed in June to become the "Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing Plant" to reflect the fact that most vehicle frames are now made by outside suppliers while the factory will be doing other work for the new truck plant. Even a portion of the old Dearborn Assembly Plant is supposed to be saved for future reuse.
Renovation Inspired by Green Architect
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| Tim O'Brien, Ford vice president, Corporate Relations (right) and Jay Richardson, Ford Rouge Center redevelopment manager, place the last piece of sedum on the new Dearborn Truck Plant final assembly building, completing the World's Largest Living Roof, as designated by Guinness World Records(TM). (Photo: Ford Motor Company) |
When Bill Ford announced the multi-year, multi-billion dollar reinvestment in the Rouge Center at a Sustainable Development Conference in Dearborn in 1999, he also introduced McDonough, an internationally recognized architect who was pushing the "green office" movement in the United States. McDonough is the proprietor of William McDonough + Partners of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Ford Motor had been planning the renovation of the Rouge for some time, but the chairman added a significant twist, saying that the complex would become a test bed for sustainable manufacturing ideals, much to the surprise of company officers and McDonough.
At the time, McDonough had only talked to the chairman for a couple of months.
"The first issue for me was the daunting challenge that Bill Ford put forth," McDonough said. "When he announced it, it was the first time that I had heard of it. It became part of a plan that was being executed, but he turned it into a project that would explore new ways of automotive production.
"It was a delightful prospect, but I was fully aware, when I took on the project, that if I did not produce shareholder value, I would not succeed."
McDonough had designed the Environmental Defense Fund Headquarters, which was completed in 1985. And later the Gap headquarters complex in California, which had a grass roof. Then, he became the first and only individual to receive the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, the nation's highest environmental honor, in 1996.