Fighter jet building opens, images

This ‘fighter-jet inspired’ building for a facility that builds the parts of the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Lockhead Martin F-35 Lightning II aircrafts has officially opened in Lancashire, England.

The fighter jet theme was originally scribbled on a post-it note by the Capita Symonds architectural team before being pitched to client BAE Systems. The concept was a folding surface, which came to life by cladding the external roof and wall elements in the same material.

The building is positioned to be clearly visible from the nearby A59 motorway and includes a new wind turbine, which, along with site-wide infrastructure, provides up to 10 per cent renewable energy.

Two major new four-storey office buildings have also opened as part of the redevelopment. One building will house F35 staff while the other will house customer support for BAE’s Saudi contracts.

Each building consists of two 52.5m x 18m rectangular floor plates, broken up by an atrium space. The floor zoning has been arranged with the fixed service areas and circulation cores around the outside of the building, leaving open plan office floor plate as a flexible interior.