Utilizing an old Bowing 747, a California woman is building her dream home out of an airplane! Not only is she constructing this interesting abode, she is doing it with the environment in mind! Every detail down to the floors is sustainable.
The wing of a 747 is over 2,500 square feet, which created a perfect self-supporting roof.
The nose will serve as a meditation temple while the middle section will serve as a loft.
To purchase the airplane, it cost approximately $100,000. By the time the construction is complete, it is estimated to cost several million dollars.
So how did this massive structure get from point A to point B? The wing shown here was loaded carefully onto a massive tractor-trailer and driven there. What a show fellow drivers on the road must have gotten!
In transit- other pieces of the airplane were airlifted to the 28 x 89 foot lot on the Ocean Front Walk in Venice Beach.
After acquiring various permits- the architect, David Hertz got the go-a-head for the first wing to touchdown- it was a smooth, safe landing!
A very happy owner, Ms. Rehwald throws her hat up in the air as the first wing lands on the property. Ms. Rehwald's family owns one of California's largest Mercedes-Benz dealerships.
Due to the lots' long and narrow dimensions, the design intent is to create a series of angled walls and reveals in the side elevations in order to provide for view corridors down the side yards to the ocean. The space between the tapered walls is used for pivot windows, which allow for the modulation of the natural prevailing breezes through the house.
To create the clear span spaces, a steel building system of wide flange steel columns and beams, diagonal brace frames with composite steel and concrete decking and concrete slabs are used to create a rigid diaphragm so that no shear walls are required.
