The new museum pavilion at RAF Hendon is home to some supreme examples of aeronautical engineering. To create a building fit for planes such as the Hawker Harrier and Sopwith Camel, architect Feilden Clegg Bradley came up with a roof made of materials associated with aviation – stainless steel and tensile fabric. The steel panels were used to create a facade resembling a huge metal aeroplane fuselage, and the tensile fabric lining acted as an appropriate backdrop for the fabric-built planes on display. But the simple elegance of the result belies the challenge this specification presented to the project team … Also in this issue, Davis Langdon & Everest analyses the soaring costs of metal, Barbour Index offers invaluable expert advice on built-up roofing and we get all steamed up over the latest row on vapour permeable membranes. Hot stuff indeed.

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