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A massive effort by Google to restore one of Mountain View’s iconic dirigible hangars is expected to begin next year, aimed at replicating Hangar One’s original design and appearance as closely as possible.
New details unveiled in May show Google’s subsidiary, Planetary Ventures, is planning to re-cover the skeletal structure north of Highway 101 in a way that “replicates, as closely as possible, the overall visual characteristics” of the original Hangar One. Minimal changes are proposed to fix some of the original hangar’s biggest flaws.
Built in the 1930s, Hangar One is among the most recognizable landmarks in the Bay Area, and remains one of the only structures left in the country that was built to house airships. The U.S. Navy stripped the siding off of Hangar One starting in 2011 after it was found to be leaking asbestos and other toxins, leaving behind a hulking skeletal structure over 1,000 feet long.
Community members at the time blasted the decision, calling it a failure to restore an important historical monument and an “emblematic eyesore reminder of a failed preservation effort.” The property was later leased by NASA Ames to Google in 2015, a deal conditioned on the clean up and restoration of the hangar.
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SLIDESHOW: Hangar One had previously been covered in metal cladding, but it was removed due to leaking contaminants. Courtesy NASA. -
SLIDESHOW: New renderings show Hangar One’s future re-covered design. Rendering courtesy NASA. -
SLIDESHOW: The old interior of Hangar One had exposed steel frames on all sides. Courtesy NASA. -
SLIDESHOW: Google’s Planetary Ventures is planning to recreate the same interior feel of the old Hangar One. Rendering courtesy NASA. -
SLIDESHOW: Hangar One’s old clam shell door opened on a rail system powered by an electric motor. Courtesy NASA. -
SLIDESHOW: Planetary Ventures is planning to repair Hangar One’s door in the same mold of the old structure. Rendering courtesy NASA.
Step one in bringing Hangar One back to its former glory is cleaning up the steel frame, blasting it with copper slag to remove contaminants from roughly 1.8 million square feet of surface area. The labor intensive process is expected to cost $85 million.
Once the abatement work is done, Planetary Ventures proposes re-cladding the structure in the spitting image of the original building, using new metal panels with a silver aluminum color mirroring the 1934 construction. The original cladding was discarded and cannot be re-used, according to the technical report, but the replacement will look remarkably similar.
Where Hangar One was drab and less exciting, so too will be the redesign. Exterior lights on the old structure were “minimal and utilitarian” and not well documented in the original drawings, leading Planetary Ventures to pursue simple “industrial-style” fixtures outside of the building.
The clam shell door on the southern side of Hangar One will be repaired and operable, while the northern door will be fixed in a closed position.
Like the original Hangar One, the steel skeleton will still be visible from the inside, rebuilt with windows designed to cast the same light patterns and shadows of the old structure. But who exactly will see the inside of the hangar remains uncertain — Google floated in 2015 the possibility of using the hangar for aviation and robotics research, testing and education, but further details have not been released.
One of the considerations in the May report is that Hangar One’s massive 200-foot height, metal construction and exposed location makes it susceptible to getting struck by lightning. A protection system of 20-foot-tall masts will be installed along the crest of the hangar’s roof, running conductors from the roof to the ground encircling the building.
Another hurdle is that Hangar One, along with a large portion of Moffett Field, is within a toxic superfund site. Soil and groundwater in the Middlefield-Ellis-Whisman (MEW) superfund site has been contaminated with volatile organic compounds and other toxic substances including lead, hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the latter of which was discovered in Hangar One’s old plating.
Google will be required to install a mitigation system under the hangar to prevent toxic vapor intrusion before it can be occupied, according to the report.
Planetary Ventures, working with NASA, is still seeking regulatory approval to go ahead with the abatement work and receive permits to do the renovation, which requires clearance through the National Environmental Policy Act and approval from the Environmental Protection Agency. The state’s Office of Historic Preservation recently confirmed that Google’s plans do not have adverse effects on historic resources.
Construction is expected to begin in late 2021 and to be completed in 2025, Google officials said.
I’m so happy to hear that this important historic landmark will finally be restored. Thank you for this update!
Served at Moffett Field from 63-69. VP-19 63-65, NAS 65-69. Spent 3 years of that time in OMD in HGR 1. Glad that they are restoring it. It would be a shame to lose it.
I can think of SO MANY so much better causes to invest in right now!
I still feel that the hangars (1, 2 and 3) would be an ideal location for a west cost Smithsonian Air & Space museum. There are a lot of rare aircraft on display outdoors that are gradually rotting away and could use some protection.