The desire of the client - the Edsel B. Ford II Experience Center in Dearborn, Michigan - was for a cohesive plaza destination, a desire which drove the landscape design of this hospitality facility. The project embraces multi-functionality while paying particular attention to the pedestrian experience and sustainability.

The Strategy
This phase of the modern corporate campus masterplan called for a new, 95,000-sq.-ft. building and a complete overhaul of the existing landscape. The site, located along a busy road across from a historic museum, was to be a space for entertaining, coworking, and hosting large public functions. In addition to these programmatic requirements, the client and stakeholder group desired a visitor experience that reflected the core values of the vehicles they create: style, innovation, durability, accessibility, mobility, sustainability, and comfort.

The architect designed a cutting-edge facility with a striking modern style that uniquely reflects the values of the brand. The exterior was to continue this feeling with a consistent, but more rugged approach.

The landscape needed to provide functional areas for outdoor events while also being welcoming, easy to navigate, and visually impressive. Through collaboration with the architect and lighting designer, intentional design of custom elements, and consistent use of materials and plantings, the landscape creates an immersive visitor experience that complements and enhances
the architecture.

Objectives
One driving concept of the project was motion. Because visitors could arrive from several directions by car, bike, or foot, the landscape needed to accommodate all forms of mobility. Care was taken to ensure that each of these modes of transportation offered a memorable and accessible approach to the facility, and the client specifically wanted to highlight the pedestrian experience.

Whether using the short pathway from the parking lot to the north or the long, tree-dotted path to the south, visitors will see the long, graceful curve of the building's fa??ade echoed in the playful arcs of concrete walls and sweeping lawn berms. This dynamic conversation between building and landscape sets the stage for the rest of the project.

A Visitor's Encounter

 
When visitors are dropped off at the entrance, they are greeted with a welcoming path free of barriers. The flat lane transitions seamlessly into the curbless plaza, where tree grates at the same level as the path ensure a safe and clean finish. This style of tree grate is used consistently throughout the project in other paths and terraces.

While much of the landscape is meant to be moved through or viewed from a distance, the design also offers moments of pause via formal and informal spaces. Two large terraces grow from the building and invite indoor events to naturally extend outdoors.

Guests can lounge on wood-topped benches, enjoy lively conversation around tables, or even lie in the cool grass of the lawn berms. The caf?(C) patio invites guests to enjoy refreshments outside in the shade of a pergola.

Informal interactions with the landscape are found in the pockets of space created by undulating topographic contours and concrete walls. Close attention was paid to maintaining a human scale for these elements, and their form and rhythm create unique and dynamic spots to discover.

The landscape berms rise and fall while showcasing layers of lush plantings. Grasses and seasonal forbs soften the space with a variety of textures, colors, and scents while adding gentle motion and sound whenever the breeze blows through.

Pre-cast concrete walls hold back the berms, but retaining earth is only one of the many uses for these landscape elements. Custom designed with versatile functionality in mind, their utility and beauty are the crucial centerpiece to this project, as retaining walls seamlessly transform into seating and softscape borders.

In the entry plaza, smaller sculptural walls grow from the ground to display signage or strips of LED lights while also gently guiding visitors towards the entrance. In areas where comfortable seating is required, such as the waiting area by the entrance, the walls are topped with wooden benches.

Hidden niches conceal the LED lighting that illuminates the space during nighttime events. Finally, the walls that partially surround the large terraces support raised plant beds, creating a sense of seclusion and privacy without interrupting views.

While each wall was uniquely designed, they share a common design language. Their color and texture are reminiscent of the sweeping form of the facility itself, immediately connecting landscape to building. Their height and depth constantly change, and their vertical surfaces are never entirely vertical. Instead, they twist and flow, sometimes pulling back from the visitor to create a sense of openness and sometimes leaning forward to cantilever over the hardscape below.

Challenges
These walls offered two challenging design problems. The original design called for each wall to be pre-cast using unique molds, but the client wanted to lower the cost. Collaborating closely with the fabricators, the product engineers modified the wall designs to use as many repeated molds as possible. The resulting, simplified approach fit the client's budget while remaining elegant and meeting all
programmatic requirements.

The second design challenge involved drainage. For the edge of the finished hardscape to cleanly meet the base of walls, the foundations needed to be perfectly level. This, in turn, required fine-tuning the grading to provide positive drainage away from the walls and building while maintaining ADA compliance.
With several hundred linear feet of walls located at both high and low drainage points, achieving this took a considerable amount of careful attention to precise details. The solution was to use slot drains, which became a critical detail to the functionality and design
of the project.

The concrete walls are complemented by a carefully chosen hardscape strategy. Because of the scale and disparate areas of this project, consistent use of patterns and materials was needed to ensure a cohesive feel.

Two finishes are used throughout. The first finish, used in the entrance and plaza, consists of alternating stripes of sandblasted concrete. Running perpendicular to the stripes is the second finish: offset rows of narrow pavers. This second finish is found in the terraces and other, more pedestrian-focused areas. The orientation of both finishes is maintained throughout the entire project, subtly adding to the integrity of the
whole design.

Following the directives of the campus masterplan, this design takes a sustainable approach to plantings and materials. One priority included restoring the site's historic oak savanna topology. Large, sweeping beds of Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) and Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) punctuated with tall oaks bring forgotten vistas to the present. Throughout the landscape, seasonal forbs offer ever-changing colorful points of interest.
Beneath the hardscape, structural soil cells support the health and vitality of a grove of beautiful Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba 'Princeton Sentry') trees. Controlling stormwater runoff are bioswales incorporated into the landscape berms and rain gardens near the building facade. Finally, the concrete benches are topped with a layer of thermally modified ash. The treatment ensures the longevity of each piece and brings rich warmth and color to the space.

The Takeaway
Starting from the design concepts of motion, multifunctionality, pedestrian experience, and sustainability, this project grew to become a complete and cohesive experiential landscape to support an exceptional facility.