Ghost Hangar

The remote site and program presented a unique design challenge – how to transport and erect a 120’ clear span structure while minimizing the impact on the landscape. The Quonset hut, developed during WWII, provided a precedent structural system that was converted to a rigid steel frame in order to achieve longer spans while drawing on the historic building profile. The steel roof structure and board-formed concrete buttresses provide unquestioned durability, while reclaimed barnwood siding is pre-weathered ready to handle the climate at hand blending harmoniously with the environment. The passive light shelves, deep roof overhangs, and cupola openings in conjunction with the Thermasteel envelope to render the unconditioned hangar volume a luminous shaded refuge even in the hottest summer. This building is not only era appropriate from an aesthetic stand point but through the use of age-old sustainable principles.