VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, MI (AP) Visteon Corp.’s new $300 million headquarters was designed to be more like a friendly village square than some chilly, remote glass tower.

The corporate center dubbed Visteon Village is modeled after a small town with human-scale buildings featuring pitched roofs with chimneys and a mixture of stone, brick and glass exteriors. The cluster includes an array of shops and a waterfront promenade to make life more pleasant for workers. High ceilings and large windows create an urban, loft-like feel.

The complex, which sits about 20 miles southwest of Detroit in Wayne County’s Van Buren Township, welcomed its first employees on Aug 6 and eventually is to become home to 3,500 to 4,000 workers.

Spun off from Ford Motor Co. in June 2000, the auto parts supplier used to lease space from Ford in six buildings in Dearborn. It started construction on its new home a couple of years ago.

“Visteon Village enhances our emphasis on our customers, creates a sense of unity among our employees and helps us share best practices,” Mike Johnston, Visteon president and chief executive officer, told the Detroit Free Press for a Aug. 7 story.

The village includes nine buildings totaling 800,000 square feet and is set on a scenic 265-acre site that includes a 37-acre lake. Amenities include boardwalks and a nature trail.

“When we set out to design Visteon Village, one of the keys for us was to create a smart facility, both in terms of cost efficiency and in the way that we work,” said Stacy Fox, Visteon senior vice president of corporate transactions and legal affairs.

Visteon, the world’s second-largest automotive supplier, worked closely with architects to achieve the look it wanted.

“We were excited by the challenge of creating the village,” said David King, the lead architect and chairman of Detroit-based SmithGroup. “The design combines the community feel of a Michigan small town with the functionality of a global, world-class organization.”

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