06.
The RIBA Category Awards 98
The RIBA Sport and Leisure Architecture Award
American Air Museum in Britain, Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambridge

Architect: Foster & Partners
Client: Imperial War Museum
Contractor: J Sisk & Sons, St Albans
Contract value: £7,950,000

Fosters were asked by the IWM to design a museum to house their collection of American WW2 aircraft which had flown from East Anglian bases. One is a B52 bomber, so large that its shape influenced the design of the building: the dramatically curved roof partially dug into the landscape, the abrupt slice of its 90m, 18.5m high facade giving sweeping views on to the runway. The roof was developed with Ove Arup using only five geometries of pre-cast panels repeated throughout its form; its single span is the largest of its kind in Europe.

'The success of this project lies in the resonance between the elegant engineered form of the building and the technically-driven shapes of the aeroplanes that it contains. On entering, the aeroplanes are seen against the backdrop of the airfield, as if only in temporary shelter. Standing among the aircraft you are hardly aware of the building.' Jury

'We have achieved a neutral backdrop to the exhibits, complementing rather than competing with their display.' Architect