1 minute read
PROJECTS FOR FORD
from The Ford Factory
by neelnaregal
Henry Ford had purchased a 60-acre of land in the Detroit suburb of Highland Park. Plants in Detroit had become inadequate. Ford’s idea was to have an entire plant under one roof, with no open court or dividing walls.
This was in contrast to his old system which had various manufacturing functions in separate buildings arranged in sequential order. Because of Kahn’s growing reputation in industrial architecture, Ford sought out the firm.
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Albert Kahn developed the daylight system in two advanced articulations. On one hand, the multistory building, with concrete frame able to contain the vertical assembling processes all under one roof. On the other hand, the horizontal workshop over one floor, a one story, roof lighted unobstructed working space.
For the first time, industrial steelsash windows we re used in conjunction with concrete framing which gave the butterfly roofs and clerestory monitors as seen in the factory
Ford commissioned a new pavilion for the 1933-34 Chicago World’s Fair. It was 130 feet high and designed to look like a stack of gears surrounding a 92-foot-wide courtyard. The Rotunda was supervised by Albert Kahn. The dome over its courtyard was the first real-world application of inventor Buckminster Fuller’s lightweight geodesic dome.
By late 1934, following the Fair, the Rotunda would be re-located to Dearborn. It was recorded at the time that over 61,000 visitors went through its doors in the first week, and 16 million guests from around the world visited over its 26-year history.
Visitors were able to see how a car was designed, how steel was made, and how an assembly plant worked. Industrial shows and custom car shows were also held within the Rotunda’s walls. The most anticipated event of the Rotunda was the annual Christmas Fantasy drawing in large crowds around the holidays.
On November 9, 1962, as the Rotunda was preparing for the Christmas Fantasy, a fire started on the roof of the building where workers were making repairs. The fire quickly burned through destroying the Routunda.
