Aging Ford Plant Revitalized Into Stunning Commercial Space

The renaissance of the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/historic-ford-factory-transformed-into-sunpower-photovoltaics-headquarters/">Ford Assembly Building</a> in Richmond, California is a powerful story of how a city, private companies and an architecture firm can produce a 21st-century facility from the bones of a building constructed in 1930. In fact, the quality of the original design by famed industrial architect <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Kahn_(architect)#Kahn-designed_buildings">Albert Kahn</a> not only earned it a spot on the National Historic Register, but also allowed <a href="http://www.wonglogan.com/">Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects</a> to playfully re-imagine the sun-filled space as a place for work, art, leisure and learning. The result is a one of the greenest mixed-use buildings in the Bay Area, and certainly one of the most interesting.

<br><br>After producing Ford cars, Jeeps and outfitting tanks during WWII, the huge complex sat vacant upon closing down in the fifties.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em>Then the 1989 Loma Peralta<a href="http://inhabitat.com/how-building-codes-saved-lives-during-chiles-earthquake/"> earthquake </a>forced the city to either <a href="http://inhabitat.com/oldest-pool-in-bay-area-takes-plunge-to-be-greenest-in-country/">fix the building</a> or tear it down.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em><br><br>Richmond chose to invest in the building, and after many years of seeking development partners the city finally was able to see the historic complex revived.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em><br><br>Current codes would never allow a building to be placed so close to the water, so this was a rare opportunity to create a striking venue on the bay.

The massive complex shelters 525,000 square feet under rows of skylights and solar panels.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em><br><br>Albert Kahn’s vision of incorporating copious <a href="http://inhabitat.com/daylighting/">daylighting</a> throughout the project could not be more resonant 80 years later.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em><br><br>Offices are bathed in northern diffused light as seen in <a href="http://inhabitat.com/historic-ford-factory-transformed-into-sunpower-photovoltaics-headquarters/">SunPower’s contemporary offices</a>.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em>Other green-oriented companies followed suit like clothing manufacturer <a href="http://www.mountainhardwear.com/About-Us-Sustainability/About_Us_Sustainability,default,pg.html">Mountain Hardware</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vetrazzo">Vetrazzo Countertops</a>, turning the plant into a hub for green manufacturing and distribution.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em><br><br>Arts and culture are given a central home in the repurposed building in the massive glass-enclosed <a href="http://www.craneway.com/">Craneway Pavilion</a>.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em>It is wrapped in 35-foot windows and rolling glass doors which open to the adjacent waterway overlooking Oakland and San Francisco across the bay.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em><br><br>The huge space hosts concerts and art performances as well as large private functions and galas in a<a href="http://inhabitat.com/daylighting/"> daylit</a> and adaptable space.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em><br><br>A concert in the Crane Pavilion.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em><br><br>The <a href="http://www.boilerhouserestaurant.com/">Boiler House Restaurant</a> is the gastronomic result of the preservation of the original building’s heating equipment.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em><br><br>The machinery flanks single-slab recovered timber tables and the bar.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em>Step next door into the <a href="http://www.rosietheriveter.org/">Rosie the Riveter Museum</a> to learn about the area's manufacturing heyday during the Second World War.

The Ford Assembly Building's southern side opens directly to the Bay Trail which rings the entire region.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em><br><br>A ferry terminal near the project plans to offer a commuter ferry to San Francisco as well.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em>The massive project is part of a larger effort to revitalize a community that was left without many resources after factories closed up shop generations ago.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em><br><br>The project is also a forward thinking enterprise that is anchored in<a href="http://inhabitat.com/sustainable-building/"> sustainable design</a> and clean technology and manufacturing industries.

<em>Photos ©<a href="http://www.hustacephotography.com/"> Billy Hustace</a></em>