Albert Kahn Ford Factory Design Open Floor Plan

Architect of ford 1993 p.

Albert kahn ford factory design open floor plan. The traditional factory plans proved inadequate in providing the flexibility and safety needed for the new management of labor albert kahn. Reinforced concrete enabled kahn to design large. Kahn s discussions with ford inspired him to develop factory floor plans that would accommodate both changes in production technology and the easy flow of products and materials throughout the factory space. Kahn s first ford factory the 1909 highland park plant used elevators and dumbwaiters to spread the model t assembly line over several floors but most of his subsequent factories were huge.

Albert kahn industrial architect and planner known for his designs of american automobile factories. Kahn then used this technology in his designs for the palms apartments 1903 and the packard automotive plant 1905 the first use of reinforced concrete in automotive factory design in the country. With the rise of factory architecture and the rapid rate of growth in the industrial sector research for new solutions for production space was required. Ford automotive production had previously taken place at the ford piquette avenue plant where the first model ts were built the highland park ford plant was approximately 4 miles 6 4 km northwest of the original dodge brothers factory who were subcontractors for ford producing.

Kahn a prussian immigrant to detroit opened his firm in 1895 and quickly gained a reputation for his factory designs which utilized reinforced concrete instead of wooden structural. To design the new center building the fisher brothers turned to albert kahn who was already a superstar in the field of commercial and industrial architecture.