Client: San Diego County Regional Airport Authority

8,000sf

The United Airlines Hangar and Terminal (UAHT) is a qualified historical structure located at the San Diego International Airport built in 1931 in the Spanish Revival style. The final environmental impact report (FEIR) in January 2020 identified the UAHT as one of several historic resources at the San Diego Airport. RNT served as the Historic Preservation Architect with Gensler as the Architect of Record to relocate and preserve the historic structure by disassembling it, placing it in temporary storage, and reconstructing it at a new location at the airport.

The biggest challenge was integrating the new structure with the salvaged historic components and providing tolerances and clearances to let the structure settle appropriately. Our team performed lidar and 3D scans of the existing structure, which informed our BIM process before disassembly so we could accurately catalogue the building’s components. We worked closely with the contractor in documenting the disassembly and selective demolition onsite to reveal hidden details where windows, hangar doors, roof and wall assemblies intersected. Capturing these connection details was critical to informing the reconstruction drawings.

Microscopy analysis of collected samples examined under visible and ultraviolet light revealed a stratigraphy of up to seven generations of paint, with the earliest being a light tan oil-based paint over tan stucco and resin-sealed wood, and a dark olive green on metal components. These findings guided the repainting of the hangar doors, windows, plaster, and wood elements in colors authentic to the terminal’s original 1931 appearance.