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The Assembly
The Assembly
Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Popular Winner, 2023 A+Awards, Institutional - Higher Education & Research Facilities
Finalist, 2023 A+Awards, Concepts - Architecture +Learning
Project of the Day on Dec 18, 2023
Project Featured on Dec 18, 2023
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Other Projects by ZGF Architects
The Assembly
Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Popular Winner, 2023 A+Awards, Institutional - Higher Education & Research Facilities
Finalist, 2023 A+Awards, Concepts - Architecture +Learning
Project of the Day on Dec 18, 2023
Project Featured on Dec 18, 2023
Firm
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2021
SIZE
500,000 sqft - 1,000,000 sqft
The accomplishments of the last century and the opportunities of the future are colliding at The Assembly, where the transformation of Pittsburgh’s historic Ford Motor Plant into a center for scientific research is indicative of a new era of innovation in the Steel City.
The original Ford Motor Plant was one of 31 across the United States where Model Ts were mass assembled, sold out of a showroom, and serviced all in one building. Now home to University of Pittsburgh and Hillman Cancer Center, the building has been repurposed as a biomedical research hub. The transformed plant assembles all the pieces of an innovation district within one city block.
Designed for cutting-edge cancer and immunology research, the building consolidates academic researchers and private industry tenants into one central location. Generous amenity, retail, and conferencing space will help attract top talent while serving tenants and the surrounding community.
The success of this adaptive use project lies in its balance of great creativity and great restraint. The design sensitively rehabilitated the eight-story Ford plant while leaving many of its original architectural details intact. The plant’s vertical crane shed—a distinct architectural element where rail cars once entered the building to offload auto components—has been restored and transformed into an atrium for collaboration and social functions. Imbued with authentic character, the original corner showroom has been reinvented as community-serving retail.
A new laboratory tower and parking facility has been inserted adjacent to the Ford Plant. Clad in precast terracotta, the new addition complements the brick plant in materiality, form, and industrial character while remaining architecturally distinct. A landscaped terrace connects the old and new structures.
The adaptive reuse of this historic relic into a center for biomedical research presents a case study in how industrial architecture can be revitalized for tomorrow’s economy.
The original Ford Motor Plant was one of 31 across the United States where Model Ts were mass assembled, sold out of a showroom, and serviced all in one building. Now home to University of Pittsburgh and Hillman Cancer Center, the building has been repurposed as a biomedical research hub. The transformed plant assembles all the pieces of an innovation district within one city block.
Designed for cutting-edge cancer and immunology research, the building consolidates academic researchers and private industry tenants into one central location. Generous amenity, retail, and conferencing space will help attract top talent while serving tenants and the surrounding community.
The success of this adaptive use project lies in its balance of great creativity and great restraint. The design sensitively rehabilitated the eight-story Ford plant while leaving many of its original architectural details intact. The plant’s vertical crane shed—a distinct architectural element where rail cars once entered the building to offload auto components—has been restored and transformed into an atrium for collaboration and social functions. Imbued with authentic character, the original corner showroom has been reinvented as community-serving retail.
A new laboratory tower and parking facility has been inserted adjacent to the Ford Plant. Clad in precast terracotta, the new addition complements the brick plant in materiality, form, and industrial character while remaining architecturally distinct. A landscaped terrace connects the old and new structures.
The adaptive reuse of this historic relic into a center for biomedical research presents a case study in how industrial architecture can be revitalized for tomorrow’s economy.
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