After 69 years, Ford Motor Co. is moving its world headquarters — but employees may hardly notice a change in their commute. Come November, the carmaker’s new 2.1-million-square-foot building will open just 3 miles away from the company’s current “Glass House” headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
“To attract the best talent, you have to give them interesting problems to work on and great places to work,” executive chairman Bill Ford said in a virtual briefing, per the Associated Press. “We feel they have interesting things to work on, but we didn’t have great places for them to work and now we do. It’s a talent-attraction magnet.”
The new four-story hub, which began construction in December 2020, will be more than twice the size of the 950,000-square-foot Glass House and accommodate 4,000 employees (double the current capacity). Described as being “state-of-the-art” in a news release, it was designed to be net-zero energy and boasts six design studios, a design showroom, a 160,000-square-foot food hall, and 12 acres of greenspace. The Ford World Headquarters building is located on the Ford Dearborn campus, which will be renamed the Henry Ford II World Center, and can hold a car almost anywhere within it, allowing for products to move freely throughout.
“This is more than just a new building; it’s a catalyst for innovation and a physical symbol of our Ford+ transformation. To win in this new era, we must work more closely together than ever before,” Bill Ford and CEO Jim Farley wrote in a Sept. 15 open letter. “Our new headquarters is designed to make that happen, bringing thousands of our engineering, design, and technology team members together in one collaborative space.”
There’s one aspect that isn’t changing, though. The new headquarters will retain the old building’s address, 1 American Road, “because we’re going to continue to develop products for the next century,” heritage and brand manager Ted Ryan told the AP.
When The Glass House opened in 1956, more than five decades after Ford Motor Co. was established in 1903, it was quite a marvel. Back then, Ford proclaimed that the 11-story main structure was one of the country’s largest office buildings occupied by a single company. According to Detroit1701.org, it was designed in an architectural style popular at the time, evoking a sense of modernity and efficiency.
Dubbed a “tall city in a park,” the Glass House’s approximately five acres of plate glass allowed employees to enjoy views of the surrounding greenspace, per Michigan Modern. Its architects prioritized flexible office spaces, strategically placing interior columns within a service core.
But following nearly seven decades of service, its time to retire has come: Once the move out is completed in June 2026, Ford will sustainably decommission and demolish the structure over an 18-month period. The company said in the news release that while Ford will remain the property’s owner, the land will be “repurposed as an asset to our local community,” with specific plans to be announced at a later date.
As for the new digs, construction is scheduled to finish in 2027 — and once completed, a total of 14,000 employees will be within a 15-minute walk of the hub. In addition to all the modern-day amenities and features, Ford World Headquarters will incorporate decor from local artists and company archives, along with “Easter eggs” hidden throughout the building, Ford Land global design and brand director Jennifer Kolstad told The Detroit News. She said: “Every detail, big and small, has been considered.”
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