But far more impressive than any of these comparisons is the volume of the building, at 5,200,000m 3.The central section of the hangar consists of a fabric structure covering five steel arches at 35m centres, springing off concrete plinths that act as covered entrances. So, St Paul's Cathedral would just pierce the top of the hangar, Sydney Opera House would sit comfortably within one half and the statue of Liberty would nestle within the profile of the doors. As well as being visually pleasing, giving a good indication of what is inside, the shape is aerodynamic, reducing the wind loadings.Īs Matthew Teague writes on page 2, there is a tendency to describe large buildings in terms of other architectural icons. This is innovative and not inexpensive but, by allowing the building to follow so closely the shape of the blimps, it saves on materials for both superstructure and flooring. The doors at either end are in eight sections, two fixed and six moving, which open with a clamshell action, within their own footprint. The central part, 160m long, is semi-circular in section, with a height of 107m. Each end is semicircular with a radius of 100m. This means that, although the new hangar is not that much longer than some of its predecessors (the Saarbrücken hangar of 1936, for example, was 275m long), it is much taller and wider.Īrup designed a pavilion for the 1984 Liverpool Garden Festival which some wag dubbed 'the Hedex capsule', and the CargoLifter terminal, albeit on a much larger scale and with a different structural system, could take the same name. Zeppelins were long and thin blimps are much rounder. This fact is not merely of interest to planespotters, or even airship spotters. They are each 260m long with a maximum diameter of 65m, designed to carry 160 tonnes of cargo up to 10,000 km at a cruising speed of 56 km/h without the need to refuel. The hangar is designed to house two CL160 CargoLifters side by side.
Munich practice SIAT Architektur + Design is the architect for the building in Brand, 50km south of Berlin in Germany. CargoLifters will be immense and, because they need a home to protect them from the weather and a place for their construction and maintenance, their development involves the construction of an immense hangar.Īrup was appointed engineer for what turned out to be the largest free-standing hangar in the world. Those little airships bobbing in our skies bear the same sort of relationship to the planned CargoLifters as a biplane does to a 747. So when a company in Germany announces plans to start building airships, known as CargoLifters, it all seems familiar. A few years ago there was a fad in London and other cities for using airships as mobile advertising hoardings.
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