The 5,800 square foot helicopter hangar is located in Hobe, Sound Florida. It was originally constructed in 2011 and in 2014 it won the AIATC Design Excellence Award.

Built this structure on 200 acres of grassland. It’s made to protect helicopters, horse trailers, horse buggies, and semi trucks from the harsh elements of Florida’s climate and weather.

The building is large enough to hold all these large toys. You’ll see that there is room to store all of the horse trailers and equipment between travel days and equestrian events while leaving plenty of room to access the helicopter for daily or weekly use.

Simple Yet Stunning Design

The floor plan is simple. There are two sides to the building that slope away from each other, creating a unique look from the exterior. At the point where these angles meet, the architect added translucent panels to the frame so natural light is let into the hangar and storage area.

Besides the natural light, the helicopter hangar is greatly insulated. The lack of windows help keep out the strong Florida heat and sun, which minimizes the need for cooling components on the inside of the building.

Features and Components

Although the building does not have any fixed overhangs, there is a hydraulic door that projects from the wall to the outside. It’s an ideal option for working on the helicopter outside on a rainy day. The hydraulic covering also offers shade outside the hangar on a hot and sunny day.

It’s an engineered steel building that includes a rain-harvesting pond. The exterior is painted with four different shades of green and four different shades of blue. A seemingly humble color scheme is indented to imitate the surrounding vegetation in the open savannah and pasture land. The blue colors also mimic the Florida sky.

During certain times of the day, the building seemingly disappears along with the horizon because of the unique color design.

Overall, the helicopter hanger is a beautifully engineered structure to hold and store large and expensive toys. There is plenty of room to keep a helicopter, semi truck, horse buggies, and horse trailers. The insulation helps keep everything on the inside of the unit cool, which is important for a storage area exposed to the hot Florida sun.

The award winning helicopter hanger has a simple yet unique design that makes it beautiful.

Design by Hughes Umbanhowar Architects