Toyota selects Cincinnati architect to design new facilities

Offices Will Use Renewable Energy, Recycle Water and Build Biodiversity

Toyota selected Cincinnati-based BHDP Architecture to design the automakers new facilities in Georgetown, Ky. and York Township, Michigan.

For promoting future product growth, Toyota declared last spring that it will expand its Technical Center in Michigan to accommodate the relocation of 250 direct procurement and supplier engineering development positions from Erlanger to its campus in York Township near Ann Arbor. In addition, nearly 300 Erlanger-based production engineering positions will relocate to a new facility at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky in Georgetown. Both moves will occur by early 2017.

Victor Vanov, a spokesman with Toyota, said BHDP Architecture stood out because of the firm's experience with sustainable building.

"That's a key reason they won the business," Vanov said.

Groundbreaking for both facilities will take place in spring 2015.

“Toyota identified key themes for these two new facilities,” says senior architect Tom Arends. “A work environment that’s sustainable, promotes collaboration, embraces diversity and builds a sense of excitement and accomplishment for team members with the ultimate vision of building always better cars. We are honored to work with Toyota to design a workplace that helps team members achieve desired results.”

 “We welcome BHDP Architecture and recognize their experience as an innovative leader focused on creating a workplace environment that aligns with our sustainability goals,” said Robin Haugen, general manager, Production Engineering at Toyota. “These new facilities will be regional role models using renewable energy, recycling water, building biodiversity, and increasing the amount of low volatile organic compounds and recycled material within the construction.”

While Toyota is relocating its North American headquarters for manufacturing, sales and marketing to a single North American operations headquarters in Plano, Texas in 2017, the automaker will still have more than 7,000 employees in Kentucky. These operations are a part of series of moves designed to better serve customers and position the company for continual, long-term growth. Later this year, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky will start production of the Lexus ES in Georgetown, which is Toyota's largest U.S. manufacturing plant.