Projects

Understanding "Meta"

Postmodern theory informs EV future factory

At Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, employees don’t work in a factory; Meta Pros fulfill a vision within the spaces of the Metaplant.

HMGMA is deploying its custom-designed vocabulary for a reason: what they will be achieving in Georgia will be more than a consumer product. The leadership behind the conceptual vision at HMGMA sees that a smart factory in the 21st century must define value in more terms than just an accounting ledger.

This means adapting practices that emphasize flexibility, humanity, community, wellness, nature and a concept of mobility that means a journey is measured in more than just mileage. Something more than just a car is created at a Metaplant.

It’s a challenge, for sure. To actualize the concept of “meta” calls for being aware of relationships and connections that aren’t just on the surface. They are extra-linguistic, in language and beyond language, communicating a shared imaginary through the common language of space, color, shape, materials and finishes, behaviors and practices.

Add history, geography, climate and spirit, and a new world takes shape.

Industry Category

Headquarters

Bryan County

Brand Proposition

Meta:

From the Greek “meta” meaning with, across or after
adjective; combining form prefix; meta-

As prefix:

  • 1. Denoting a change of position or condition
    2. Denoting position after or beyond
    3. Denoting something of a higher order

As adjective:

  • 1. Referring to a thing’s awareness of itself; a self-referential activity of self-critique and self-motivated transformation or re-positioning due to recognition of oneself or itself as a member of a category.
    2. Current usage implies effort to transcend the current state of a person or thing and achieve a higher, greater understanding.

 

Technical College Partner(s)

Savannah Technical College

Ogeechee Technical College

Oconee Fall Line Technical College

“With the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, we will continue to evolve beyond an automaker to the world’s leading mobility solutions provider.”

— Euisun Chung, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair

With the additional EV battery production capabilities the Metaplant will provide, Hyundai aims to maintain its position as one of the top three EV providers in the U.S.

The new plant will boast a highly connected, automated, and flexible manufacturing system, which organically connects all elements of the EV ecosystem to realize customer value.

The Metaplant will include five buildings totaling approximately 4 million square feet.

The plant sits on approximately 3,000 acres and will employ more than 8,000 people.

The 3,050-foot-long front exterior of the building will be lit in two parallel lines, inspired by a stream, and will outline an area where Interstate 16 travelers can view the vehicles as they travel by conveyer from paint to general assembly.

Prominently featured in front of the Metaplant will be a 41-acre ecological park that includes trails, running tracks, environmental art displays, sports fields, picnic areas and a pond.