VISION 51 — FLYING HIGH
Rather than squeeze occupancy into a pre-determined
flighty form, the design is shaped by a practical, disciplined
program. And instead of antiseptic, astringent spaces,
interiors offer generosity with full height central atrium,
clerestory, glass-walled meeting rooms and timber
lined voids.
The foyer/atrium space encourages visitors to engage
with, and be educated about, RFDS culture and operations.
Glimpses of aircraft in the hangar or flying in and out,
ambulances driving by, and an architectural connection
to the sky and land through the floating glass skylight
over the atrium stairs, are all vital components of this
connective and cohesive aspect of design.
Vision’s Peter Hyatt met with project architect
Andrew Frazer of Walter Brooke to discuss a project
requiring technical excellence and empathy:
A project highlight?
One is the main entry foyer viewed from
the ground floor. There was a focus on giving visitors
an impression of what RFDS was all about just by
entering the building.
VISION
ANDREW FRAZER
There is a work-in-progress quality with such high
visibility throughout.
You walk in and see everything. You see the RFDS aircraft
and staff at work. You can look out to the apron and
the main Adelaide airport control tower. You can also
look up through the atrium and see the sky. They are
the main three aspects and it was about selling RFDS.
A regular challenge for architects is to prioritise levels
of transparency.
That was a key aspect here. The organisation was previously
split into different building sites. There was a cultural shift in
bringing people together. While there’s a slight disconnect
between operations and administration, visitors can see
through the hangar what the operational people are doing –
and vice versa. It was all about transparency and making
the building visually open.