HIGHLAND PARK, FORD PLANT

“ A plan to mass-produce factory buidings. ”

- Albert Kahn

Albert Kahn with his brother had began developing a new construction technique which utilized reinforced concrete instead of wood for walls, roofs, and support beams. This practice made buildings less susceptible to fire and also allowed for large cavities of unobstructed space.

The construction of the Packard Plant attracted the attention of Henry Ford, who hired Kahn to design Ford Motor Company’s Highland Park plant in 1908.

‘It’s all about the Column’

In the part plan below, the arragment of Columns is visible. These reinforced columns helped Kahn achieve the desired spans and openings for the New industrial buildings.

The Columns became the Load bearing members of the structure. Along with this, Kahn used lighter materials like Steel to make Roofs and Windows. Roofs of the buildings started bringing in skylight using the different forms made by the steel truss members.

Plan : Ford Motor Co. Highland Park Plant (done by Albert Kahn)

Tracks around the factory for the movement of raw materials and finished parts

The building blocks facing the main roads were either used for showroom/ delivery areas. The raw materials for the factory came from the other side via railways and reached each unit of Assembly through sub-divisions of the main line.

Inside the factory Ford had achieved its goal of having an efficient assembly process, reorganizing materials and workers to minimize the time they spent acquiring material and moving between the various parts of the manufacturing and assembly process.

The moving assembly line immediately brought the time to complete an entire car down from 728 to 93 minutes.

Building AA : The defining character of is its exterior design, industrial character and the three-story craneway with banks of windows on the other side.

Building NN : The building is defined by its exterior design, open interior space and the abundant natural light brought in through the glass roof and clerestory windows. The building is a bridging space between OO and AA part of the Assembly line.

Building OO : The defining features of Building OO include its more ornamental exterior design as a public facade on Woodward Avenue and the primary interior spaces of the entry vestibule, showroom, and monumental central stair all the way to the fourth floor.

Architecture of the Assembly line

The large floor area with groups of workers assigned specific tasks as a part of the assembly line.

The volume of this area allowed for the conveyor beltsystem to bring in parts from all around the factory to the main assembly.

This area was used as the delivery area for the final touch -ups and additions to the car before handing it over to the customers.