Ford Motor Company has a living roof on its River Rouge facility which serves a number of useful purposes.
Most of Henry Ford’s accomplishments took place at a gargantuan facility called the River Rouge Factory. At a mile long and 1.5 miles wide, there is 16 million ft2 of usable floor space throughout 93 buildings, but it’s the roof that piques the interest of workers and visitors alike.
As part of a comprehensive renovation that began in 1999, a 10.4 acre (454,000 ft2) living roof was installed utilizing sedum (a common living roof plant choice) in order to cleanse approximately 20 billion gallons of rainwater annually. This kept Ford from having to build a $50 million water treatment facility. Sedum also absorbs CO2 and reduces the urban heat island effect. Another business-friendly benefit of this decision corresponds with a living roof’s ability to regulate the temperature within a facility, something it does quite well as it reduces energy costs by 5%, a staggering sum for such a structure!
The Coalition for Responsible Equitable Economic Development (CREED LA) proudly supports environmentally-responsible construction projects throughout Los Angeles that not only have a positive impact on the local community, but support LA’s working families as well.
CREED LA fights to ensure that developers pay fair wages to all the hard working construction professionals throughout the industry while simultaneously providing them with quality health care, continued training, and trustworthy retirement plans. To learn more about how our non-profit organization supports those building a better, greener world for us all, contact CREED LA at (877) 810-7473.
- Pictorial from: Aerial photo, November 2007. Photo Courtesy of Xero Flor America