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Cocoon recently worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop and deliver a fixed-base maintenance hangar for Bagram Airfield base in Afghanistan. The hangar was designed to accommodate a C-130 aircraft and has a clear span width of 174’ with a 153’ wide by 46’ high door.

This particular hangar is required to fulfill critical maintenance activities not currently available in Afghanistan, with occupancy available as quickly as possible based on an extremely compressed design schedule. There was also agreement that the project would not be designed as expeditionary but would meet all continental U.S. code requirements for potential re-location within CONUS.

The hangar is designed to meet specific clear space, environmental, and load conditions, including: support for suspended equipment, full internal fire protection systems, fuels maintenance systems, supporting utilities, and the ability to withstand 90MPH wind gusts.

This program was not required to meet Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria. However, there are unique attributes that would seem to indicate potential success in meeting some of these, including: all components are recyclable; the weight of the structure is significantly less than for standard construction resulting in reduced transportation and fuel costs; the fabric can be translucent, offering reductions in lighting costs; and although designed to be permanent, it is inherently re-locatable using bolted connections.

Notably, this project has been nominated for the 2009 MACE Project of the Year.