Historic Wright-Patterson hangar gets award-winning makeover

World War II-era hangar part of Wright Field Historic District

Credit: Michael Firsich michaelfirsichph

Credit: Michael Firsich michaelfirsichph

The conversion of an historic hangar at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is winning recognition in the field of engineering.

The hangar restoration project has won an Engineering-News Record (ENR) Midwest 2022 “Best Projects Award” in the renovation/restoration category, according to a release from Indianapolis-based engineering consultant American Structurepoint Inc.

The project was completed in August 2021 on a part of Wright-Patterson considered part of the “Wright Field Historic District,” a spokeswoman for American Structurepoint told this newspaper.

Hangar F/20006, a Second World War-era facility, is considered an historical structure, eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

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American Structurepoint teamed with CMS Corp. to provide architecture design, structural engineering and civil engineering services for the $32.2 million design-build project to adapt the hangar to “best serve the 21st-century US Air Force,” the company said.

“American Structurepoint’s design team and construction manager CMS Corp. faced a daunting challenge,” the company said. “They needed to design and renovate approximately 37,350 square feet of existing interior space and provide a new second floor within the open hangar.”

The 60,000-square-foot foot interior needed to meet Department of Defense specifications for security, sustainability with anti-terrorism characteristics while supporting a 300-person mission, the company said.

The team also had to maintain aesthetics and exterior integrity because the hangar is part of the historic district.

The companies involved said they “maintained the structural framing defining the building’s interior and exterior character.”

The existing hangar doors on the building’s west façade were cleaned, and missing or deteriorated parts were replaced. The interior was designed and constructed as a building within a building, a design technique providing an additional level of security, the companies said.

“The hangar’s rebirth provides a highly functional, relevant and state-of-the art building to support Wright-Patterson Air Force Base missions,” American Structurepoint said.

“American Structurepoint has a successful history of delivering more than 350 federal government projects across the U.S., and our architects and engineers were honored to partner with CMS Corp. to renovate and restore this World War II hanger to serve today’s military,” Matthew Wright, federal sector leader for American Structurepoint’s Architecture + Interiors Group, said in the release.

A panel of architecture, engineering and construction experts reviewed 64 projects entered in the ENR Midwest competition and selected 13 for “Best Projects” recognition across 16 categories.

Winning project teams will be recognized in Chicago on Thursday.

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