Renovated Architecture
In 1999 Architect William McDonough entered into an agreement with Ford Motor Company to redesign its 85-year-old, 1,212-acre (490 ha) Rouge River facility. The roof of the 1.1 million square foot (100,000 m2) Dearborn truck assembly plant was covered with more than 10 acres (4.0 ha) of sedum, a low-growing groundcover. The sedum retains and cleanses rainwater and moderates the internal temperature of the building, saving energy.
The roof is part of an $18 million rainwater treatment system designed to clean 20 billion U.S. gallons (76,000,000 m3) of rainwater annually, sparing Ford from a $50 million mechanical treatment facility.
Read more about this topic: Ford River Rouge Complex
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