Taking Flight

As one of the world’s largest aerospace manufacturers, Boeing goes the extra mile to ensure its customers feel appreciated. When Boeing commissioned a building to better facilitate the handover of aircraft to its customers, the company knew the project had to be special.

Architectural firm CJMW Architecture, as part of a joint venture with Turner Construction and KBR Building Group, was tapped to realize this vision in the Boeing South Carolina Delivery Center in North Charleston, South Carolina. For this particular project, client interaction was paramount in the design.

The Boeing South Carolina Delivery Center was designed to express luxury, strength, and modernity to the company’s customers. Along with the hospitality components, the delivery center also houses offices for pilots and flight line staff, as well as behind-the-scenes elements like a TSA checkpoint. While the building had an important role to accomplish, there wasn’t much time to waste when bringing it all together.

The need for a sleek, high-tech look, combined with the aggressive timing, made metal an ideal choice for the exterior. The design teamed turned to CENTRIA and its Formawall Dimension Series insulated metal panels for their aesthetic and inherent performance qualities.

Architectural Exploration

Even with the tight schedule, it was very important to achieve the kind of look that Boeing and its clientele could respond to.

“From a metal standpoint, one of the biggest design drivers was the idea of movement and exploration,” KBR Building Group architect Pete Fala explains. “In the interior, a visitor is surprised by different elements as they proceed through the building. There are elements of discovery in how the building at the front is somewhat solid, but when you traverse to the back, there is a three-story atrium. This expanse of glass is revealed to visitors as they look out to the flight line. So this idea of discovery was important.”

The idea of movement was applied to the design philosophy of the building’s façade, as well.

“On the exterior, the idea of movement leads to the metal panel discussion,” Fala says. “We looked at the different metal panel profiles and colors and decided to be somewhat playful with the patterning in the building façade. You see some flat panels and some that are corrugated. That was an idea intended to create a sense of movement on the façade, and I think it turned out to be pretty successful.”

Smooth Landing

The completion of the delivery center has created a “wow” factor for Boeing’s customers, making the experience of picking up a new aircraft a special event. Create that unique experience in such a short period of time is a point of pride for the design and construction team.

“Being able to pull it off in the timeframe we were able to do it was a great feat, and that goes to the whole design team and the joint venture,” Fala says. “It took all those folks pulling together to meet this tight deadline. It was also great working with the folks at Boeing and understanding their business, their culture, their marketing, and their branding. They were pleased, and their customers were pleased as well.”