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AUSTRALIA’S biggest automotive employer, Ford, has committed to spend an additional $2.3 million on top of the $12m renovation of its design studio in Melbourne to introduce additional technology as it retains the brand’s global lead studio status for vehicles including the Ranger and Everest.

The upgrade has already seen the construction of a new building with double the previous floorspace, the addition of cutting-edge technologies including virtual reality equipment, and the latest clay-modelling studio with five-axis gantry milling centre and an additional 100 workstations.

Ford has invested more than $1.9 billion in research and development in Australia between 2016 and 2019. In 2020 alone, it invested more than $500m in R&D and the company is expected to spend a similar amount in 2021.

The studio was built in the 1970s and has been the birthplace of Australian Fords including the XA Falcon, XD Falcon, FG Falcon and the Territory. In addition, it now takes on broader roles in vehicle design for other markets, including South America, China and India.

Ford’s design director for international markets, Melbourne-based Max Wolff, said the studio changes would keep it contemporary and cutting edge with the technologies required to design future vehicles, from initial concept to prototype.

“We have a new virtual reality (VR) review space, which is a key tool for the visualisation team, and a five-axis gantry mill that is integral to the work of the clay modelling team,” he said.

Clay modelling has for years been the backbone of vehicle design and has been brought right up to date at the studio with the new gantry mill that takes information from the computer and translates it into a physical asset.

Ford’s centre employs more than 2500 engineers, designers, technical and automotive specialists. This includes more than 200 designers and a team of 40 clay modelers at the studio, along with more than 10 design graduates who have come from Australian universities.

The studio has fostered Australian design talent over the years, with some designers now working throughout the Ford global organisation including Todd Willing and Nima Nourian, both now headquartered at Ford in Detroit, and Simon Brook who is running the Ford China Studio in Shanghai.

The building is from leading Australian architecture firm, Genton, in collaboration with Cachet Group. Genton’s approach to the project adopted museum design philosophy – creating spaces that complement, rather than compete with the creative processes.

“The design studio underwent a minor refurbishment in 2012,” Mr Wolff said.

“This time around, the whole building has been redesigned. It has been structured around supporting our design process and our team, enabling them to work in a modern, creative environment.”

Critical to the centre’s design were new break-out areas and collaborative spaces, fewer individual offices and more natural light, which Mr Wolff said helped the creative process and collaboration.

Genton focused on natural light as an important part of the design process, so included a 1110-square-metre internal courtyard where vehicles could be privately viewed in an outdoor setting.

“Critically, the refurbishment was a consultative process, with creative design, physical and digital sculpting and design engineering all contributing to what was needed with the new facilities,” Mr Wolff said.

“This collaboration was extremely valuable in informing the design decisions.”

By Neil Dowling

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