Parks of Sprawl: The Corporate Landscape

FORD FAIRLANE CASE STUDY

Fairlane is a master planned corporate community located in Dearborn, Michigan, the hometown of Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company. Fairlane began development in 1970 by the real estate branch of Ford Motor Company and is currently considered about 95% built-out. As a case study for potential opportunities in corporate landscapes, Fairlane is a prototypical example of the office park landscapes found all over the country, with grass lawns and seas of parking lots sprawling around office buildings.

Fairlane has recently undertaken several initiatives that attempt to reposition it in a better interrelationship with its specific natural and social context. While there have been several high profile designs for new 'green' corporate headquarters, such as for the Gap and Hermann Miller, both by McDonough + Partners, the Fairlane office park presents the more widely relevant and difficult challenge of ecologically improving an already existing office park development. They have experienced certain successes and developed some innovative strategies through their recent efforts, but still face tremendous room for improvement, due to a combination of perceptual, cultural, and economic limitations within and outside of the Ford Motor Company.

The following begins a discussion of the circumstances surrounding Fairlane and describes the projects that they have begun, along with their successes, limitations, criticisms, and suggestions for future improvements.

--The Urban and Natural Context
-- Fairlane in Dearborn
-- Examples from Fairlane
-- Reasons Behind the Fairlane Projects
-- Evaluations
back