Aviation Museum Blueprints, Concept Art, and Renderings

[Noha307]

I thought I would try something a bit different for this post. Instead of images, I decided to try to list as many design and construction contractors as I could find. For the following, companies were only included if they had a dedicated page for the project. Fortunately, there's no shortage of companies wanting to showcase themselves:

• 390th Memorial Museum: GLHN Architects & Engineers, Inc.
• 390th Memorial Museum: Lloyd Construction Company, Inc.
• 390th Memorial Museum: M3 Engineering
• Alberta Aviation Museum: KEI Space
• American Air Museum: Borras Construction Limited
• American Air Museum: Foster & Partners
• Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum: Larry Mohr Construction
• Aviation Heritage Center of Wisconsin: Jos. Schmitt Construction
• Aviation Heritage Park: Scott, Murphy and Daniel
• Aviation Museum of Kentucky: The Hayden Company
• B-29 Doc Hangar, Education and Visitors Center: Hutton
• B-29 Doc Hangar, Education and Visitors Center: Schaefer Architecture
• Canada Aviation & Space Museum: Architecture 49
• Canada Aviation & Space Museum: Pomerleau
• Carolinas Aviation Museum: Freeman Ryan Design
• Carolinas Aviation Museum: Progressive AE
• Carolinas Aviation Museum: Tobin
• Commemorative Air Force Museum: Bjerke Management Solutions, Inc.
• Cradle of Aviation Museum: Lockwood, Kessler & Bartlett, Inc.
• Delta Flight Museum: Innovative Building Products
• Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen: Allmann Sattler Wappner Architekten, GmbH.
• Erickson Aircraft Collection: Elite Electric
• Erickson Aircraft Collection: KMI Commercial Contractor
• Evergreen Aviation Museum: Hoffman Construction Company
• Flying Heritage Collection: Amsberry's Painting
• Flying Heritage Collection: Butler Manufacturing
• Flying Heritage Collection: Pacific Studio
• Flying Heritage Collection: Ryan General Contractors
• Fort Worth Aviation Museum: GFF
• Greenville Air Force Base Museum: Hammons & Associates
• Hiller Aviation Museum: Hagan Quallick Architects
• Historic Flight Foundation: JRMA
• Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum: Perkins & Will
• KF Aerospace Center for Excellence: Meiklejohn Architects, Inc.
• KF Aerospace Center for Excellence: StructureCraft Builders, Inc.
• Liberty Aviation Museum: Makovich & Pusti Architects, Inc.
• Lone Star Flight Museum: Pacific Studio
• Lyon Air Museum: JRMA
• Museum of Flight: Henry Hiltner Design
• Museum of Flight: Lund Opsahl
• Museum of Flight: Pacific Studio (Full Fuselage Trainer)
• Museum of Flight: Pacific Studio (Personal Courage Wing)
• Museum of Flight: SRG Partnership, Inc. (Aviation Pavilion)
• Museum of Flight: SRG Partnership, Inc. (Space Gallery)
• Museum of Flight: SRG Partnership, Inc. (T. Evans Wyckoff Pedestrian Bridge)
• National Air and Space Museum: Canam Buildings
• National Air and Space Museum: Clark Construction Architecture
• National Air and Space Museum: Hensel Phelps
• National Air and Space Museum: HOK
• New England Air Museum: Centerbrook
• Nhill Aviation Museum: Thomson Hay Landscape Architects
• North Atlantic Aviation Museum: Woodford Architecture
• Norwegian Aviation Museum: Freeman Ryan Design
• Palm Springs Air Museum: LPA
• Patuxent River Naval Air Museum: Steve Feldman Design LLC
• Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum: Absolute Museum & Gallery Products Ltd.
• Pima Air & Space Museum: Nucor Building Systems
• Polish Aviation Museum: Arup
• Polish Aviation Museum: Mark Dziewulski Architect
• Queensland Air Museum: Spantech
• Royal Air Force Museum: Nex (Hangar 1)
• Royal Air Force Museum: Nex (Restaurant)
• Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada: PCL Construction
• Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada: Reich & Petch
• Slusser Aviation Learning Center and Museum: SMP Architecture
• Southern Museum of Flight: CMH Architects
• Stafford Air & Space Museum: Nucor Building Systems
• Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site: Pacific Studio
• Wings Over Salina Aviation Experience: JGR Architects
• Yankee Air Museum: Bidlack Creative Group

EDIT (22-08-22): Add 5 Pacific Studio entries.
EDIT (22-08-27): Add 3 390th Memorial Museum entries.
EDIT (23-10-09): Add 1 Aviation Heritage Park entry.
EDIT (24-02-05): Add 4 additional entries.

Last edited by Noha307 on Mon Feb 05, 2024 3:34 pm, edited 4 times in total.

[Noha307]

Today I came across what I can only describe as the most detailed, publicly available presentation on the future development of a museum. The National WASP WWII Museum's fundraising page has a "design development" masterplan is a tour de force in every aspect of the design of a museum. From the material for the signage, to a floorplan with the intended site of every sign, to the specific models of electronics, to the design of the display cases, to the handouts to kids, to the a script for the orientation movie, to each page visitors will encounter on the touch screen, it is document that every museum should wish to emulate. Accompanying it is a "fundraising packet" which, while significantly less impressive, includes a number of renderings that are still worth checking out.

Personally, I found the outrigger design of the "Freestanding Floor Fixture Graphics" on slide 94 to be particularly inventive. How to make signs that are mobile when you want them to be (e.g. when you need to clear the hangar to tow out an airplane), but at the same time static (e.g. so a guest leaning on one doesn't accidentally push it into said airplane) while keeping the method unobtrusive is a difficult problem to solve. I was also particularly happy to see that there is a dedicated space for artifact/archival storage in the design, since so many museums unfortunately seem to neglect it. (For a similar concept, check out the signage at the Lone Star Flight Museum. An example is visible in the lower left corner of a picture from the website Texas Highways.)

On the older side of things, Wright State has posted some "what could have been" renderings of the then United States Air Force Museum, including an aerial view and a hangar design.

EDIT (22-05-08): A 19 November 1964 article from the Dayton Daily News has a couple more pictures of the proposed USAFM canopy. According to the details, it was huge. Designed by Kevin Roche of Eero Saarinen and Associates, the canopy was to be 8 acres in area and feature a 700 foot clear span at its widest point!

EDIT (22-05-09): Apparently the USAFM went through a number of designs. A 29 August 1960 article from the Journal Herald shows a model designed by Herbert Bayer that involves no new buildings, but "only" a reconfiguration of the existing building at the time.

EDIT (22-07-11): The March 1969 issue of Air Force and Space Digest has a better up close shot of the proposed building on page 106.

Last edited by Noha307 on Sun Jul 10, 2022 11:12 pm, edited 5 times in total.

[Noha307]

Not quite a museum, but Flying Aces Services and Training completed a new building at Brasschaat Airfield in 2017:

FAST

• Rendering

(Source: FAST)

In a bit of a different project, the Imperial War Museum planned a hotel at Duxford in 2019:

Imperial War Museum Duxford

• Rendering 1
• Site Plan
• Rendering 2

(Source: Cambridge Independent)

Below are an assorted series of images related to the planning at the National Air and Space Museum:

National Air and Space Museum

• Exhibit Summary Plan

(Source: National Air and Space Museum)

• Site Plan

(Source: National Air and Space Museum)

• Planning Model

(Source: National Air and Space Museum)

A company called HelsinkiZurich developed an unnamed aviation museum concept for a mixed-use development at Helsinki Airport called "Aviapolis". However, the presence of a Lockheed 18 in the renderings and the fact that it is located in Vantaa indicates that it is in some way related to the Finnish Aviation Museum:

Untitled Aviation Museum, Vantaa, Finland

• Site Plan
• Exterior 1
• Elevation
• Floor Plan (First Floor)
• Floor Plan (Second Floor)
• Floor Plan (Third Floor)
• Floor Plan (Fourth through Tenth Floors)
• Exterior 2
• Interior 1
• Interior 2
• Exterior 3

(Source: HelsinkiZurich)

Student Project

• Aviation Museum

Design and Construction Contractors (Continued)

• American Air Museum: Focchi
• American Air Museum: Marcon
• National Museum of the United States Air Force: Turner Construction

Similar to the examples in a previous post, here's a number of projects a designer named Randy Powell made for the USS Midway Museum:

• Catapult Graphic & Animation
• Decision Point Signage
• Junior Pilot Activity (International Version)
• Volunteer Appreciation Display
• Volunteer Recognition Display v.2

[old iron]

Plans for the Collections storage modules at NASM-Udvar Hazy can be viewed here:

https://www.ncpc.gov/docs/actions/2016December/NASM_Dulles_Collections_Center_Recommendation_7817_Dec2016.pdf

The first of three large buildings (M1) has been constructed, presumably with funds that are part of the NASM-Transformation at the main museum. Most of the aircraft there have now been disassembled and are now in storage at UH.

[Noha307]

Peterson Air & Space Museum

• Interior A
• Interior B
• Interior C
• Interior D
• Interior E
• Interior F
• Interior G
• Site Concept
• Exterior Elevations
• Exterior 1
• Exterior 2
• Exterior 3
• Exterior 4
• Exterior 5

(Source: Peterson Air & Space Museum)

Wedell-Williams Aviation Museum

• Interior 1
• Interior 2
• Interior 3
• Interior 4

(Source: Whirlwind Creative)

[Noha307]

Barksdale Global Power Museum

• Museum Gallery Concept - GWOT
• Museum Gallery Concept Sketch - Quonset Hut
• Museum Gallery Concept Sketch - Alcove

(Source: Air Force Global Strike Command)

Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum

• Exterior 1
• Exterior 2
• Exterior 3

(Source: AlphaArchitects)

• Exterior 4

(Source: Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum)

Whiteman AFB Heritage Center

• Fly Through (Video)

(Source: DVIDS)

EDIT (24-03-03): A proposed floor plan of the Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum:

(Source: Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum)

Last edited by Noha307 on Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Noha307]

Although the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum was mentioned in a previous post, they have a new set of renderings - two of which they showcased on their Facebook page:

Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum

• Preliminary Space Plan (v6)
• Projection Graphics

(Source: Facebook)

The Travis Air Force Base Aviation Museum, previously known as the Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum and later the Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center had a couple concepts for their unrealized plans for a new building:

Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum

• Exterior 1 (with Text)

(Source: Jimmy Doolittle Air and Space Museum)

Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center

• Building Illustration

(Source: Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center History)

Empire State Aerosciences Museum

• Concorde in Front of Building

(Source: Smithsonian Magazine)

• Concorde Replica

(Source: The Daily Gazette)

Similar to the NASM planning model mentioned in a previous post, ESAM also had a display model made:

• Display Model

(Source: Ryerson Studio)

Finally, although it's not an aviation museum, the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum is associated with one: the Pima Air and Space Museum. Therefore, it is worth mentioning that they have a few renderings on their website.

EDIT (23-11-26): It seems that the plans for the Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum went through many different iterations. According to a presentation about a 2013-2014 master plan created by Lord Cultural Resources called for no less than a 140,000 square foot museum; a 40,000 square foot restoration and education center to be developed in cooperation with the Solano Community College; and a 150 to 200 bed hotel!

Jimmy Doolittle Center

• Exterior
• Interior

(Source: Lord Cultural Resources)

Meanwhile, an older version of the project can be seen in a picture of a scale model. More depictions likely existed on a page from a page on the old Jimmy Doolittle Museum Promotions website, but unfortunately the images were not archived by the Wayback Machine.

Last edited by Noha307 on Sun Nov 26, 2023 12:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Noha307]

Hickory Aviation Museum

• Exterior 1
• Exterior 2
• Exterior 3
• Exterior 4
• Exterior 5
• Exterior 6
• Exterior 7
• Exterior 8
• Exterior 9
• Exterior 10
• Exterior 11
• Exterior 12
• Interior 1
• Interior 2
• Interior 3
• Interior 4
• Interior 5
• Interior 6
• Interior 7
• Interior 8
• Interior 9
• Interior 10
• Interior 11
• Interior 12

(Source: Elevate)

• Exterior 13
• Exterior 14
• Exterior 15
• Exterior 16
• Exterior 17
• Exterior 18
• Interior 13
• Interior 14
• Interior 15
• Interior 16
• Interior 17
• Interior 18
• Interior 19
• Interior 20
• Interior 21

(Source: Hickory Aviation Museum)

EDIT (22-10-03): Replace 1 and add 23 additional Hickory Aviation Museum entries.
EDIT (23-11-02): Add 15 additional Hickory Aviation Museum entries.

Last edited by Noha307 on Thu Nov 02, 2023 5:02 pm, edited 3 times in total.

[Noha307]

On the subject of collections storage mentioned in a previous post, the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is building a visible storage facility. They're also working on a couple new exhibits:

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum

• Second Level View

(Source: Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum)

• How Flight Works Exhibit Rendering 1
• How Flight Works Exhibit Rendering 2
• How Flight Works Exhibit Weight Demonstration
• Solar System Exhibit 1
• Solar System Exhibit 2
• Solar System Exhibit 3

(Source: Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum)

[Noha307]

National Agricultural Aviation Museum

• Exhibit 1

(Source: Agricultural Aviation)

• Entrance (New)
• Exhibit 2

(Source: Agricultural Aviation)

• Entrance (Old)

(Source: Mississippi Ag Museum Foundation)

Solent Sky

• Development Plans (Presentation)

(Source: Solent Sky)

• Model

(Source: Daily Echo)

• Site, Elevation, Floor and Roof Plans
• Site Plan (Amended)
• Floor and Roof Plans
• Elevation
• Site, Elevation, Floor and Roof Plans (Amended)
• Elevation (Amended)
• Floor Plan (Final)
• Roof Plan (Final)
• Site Plan (Final)

(Source: Southampton City Council)

EDIT (23-09-13): Added 1 additional rendering to the National Agricultural Aviation Museum.

Last edited by Noha307 on Tue Sep 12, 2023 11:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Noha307]

As covered in a recent Vintage Aviation News article, the recently opened Hunter Warbirds at Scone Memorial Airport featured a terminal building and hangar designed and built by Kingston Building with exhibits designed by Freeman Ryan Design:[1]

Hunter Warbirds

• Exhibition

(Source: Hunter Warbirds)

[Noha307]

The National Air and Space Museum recently released renderings of five potential designs of the new Bezos Learning Center. Although the public comment period has ended, they are still worth checking out:

Bezos Learning Center of the National Air and Space Museum

• Firm A
• Firm B
• Firm C
• Firm D
• Firm E

(Source: National Air and Space Museum)

[Noha307]

The Kansas Aviation Museum has embarked upon what they are calling the "Matty Project" (after Emil Matthew Laird) to renovate portions of the building to create additional spaces for exhibits:

Kansas Aviation Museum

• Bank of America Air Capital Theater
• Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame
• Ulysses “Rip” Gooch Hall Black Aviator Exhibit 1
• Ulysses “Rip” Gooch Hall Black Aviator Exhibit 2
• Welcome to Wichita

(Source: Kansas Aviation Museum)

[Noha307]

The Collings Foundation's American Heritage Museum is contracting with BPI, who it has worked with before, to build a Hanoi Hilton Exhibit:

American Heritage Museum

• Air Warfare Display Rendering
• Entry Rendering
• Inside Cell Display Rendering
• Interrogation Outside Cells Display Rendering
• Overhead Layout
• Quartering Overhead Rendering

(Source: Hanoi Hilton Exihibit)

There's also a conceptual design package on Issuu and a video on YouTube with additional views.

[Noha307]

The Owls Head Transportation Museum has plans for an expansion and, hooray, it includes a library and research center:

Owls Head Transportation Museum

• Entrance
• Floorplan 1

(Source: Owls Head Transportation Museum Capital Campaign)

• Floorplan 1 (Alternate)
• Connector

(Source: Owls Head Transportation Museum Capital Campaign)

• Scale Model

(Source: Penobscot Bay Pilot)

• Floorplan 2

(Source: Mainebiz)

EDIT (22-11-06): Add 2 additional Owls Head Transportation Museum entries.