American Air Museum Addition
An expansion project of Norman Foster's American Air Museum in Cambridge, England
I completed this project during a summer graduate studio in 2011 at the University of Texas in Arlington. The project goal was to create an expansion space to display more WWII airplanes while also connecting the existing Norman Foster building to a tank display museum located across the field. The Foster path is the one in the top right and the tank path is located in the bottom left.
The narrative of my building was to have to people viewing these air crafts be thrust into the middle of the war. The left side of the museum is filled entirely with Allied Planes while the right side holds the Axis Planes. Below the glass dome on the second floor that holds different pieces of aviation history (goggles, helmets, masks, etc.), the ground floor has the most intimidating space. As you walk along the path, it leads you directly between an American Bomber and a German Bomber in a spaced called "The Heart of the Battle."
The museum also has gift shops, lecture spaces, restrooms, stairs, elevators, and various rest areas located within the thick concrete walls and create the circular berm where the native trees are placed.