Flying Museum

Cessnock, NSW

 

The Flying Museum in the Hunter Valley is a highly technically driven project, which provides optimum enclosure for Aircraft whilst providing freedom of movement for a high standard of aviation operational practice levels. The vintage plane collection determined the buildings height and width. The buildings drama comes from the powerful arc and its extension toward the runway – reminiscent of a wing profile or WWII blister hangars: vaulted structures designed to be invisible from the air. The curved vault truss is engineered to support the 12-meter cantilever awning that extends beyond the 30 metre clear span door opening. The ‘Arramax’ deep profile steel roof spans 15m across four main trusses of primary structure. The two internal deeper trusses carry more roof cantilever whilst providing required roof drainage creating a subtle vault to the building form. Two outer trusses and northern door truss are clad continuous with translucent roof sheeting washing the interior walls in daylight. Administration ‘pods’ are located at the end facades and a 45m long suspended walkway links east and west