The Roof Made From Jumbo Jet Wings

When people tend to think of metal roofs, they tend to think of effective, functional and recyclable corrugated roofing sheets, typically although not exclusively used with industrial purposes in mind.

The 747 Wing House is not designed with those considerations in mind at all and to this day the Malibu, California house continues to wow people and intensify debates internationally about sustainable architecture and how the character of abandoned engineering and infrastructural work can be reused in imaginative ways.

The initial property was previously owned by the late artist and set designer Tony Duquette and was previously known as Sortilegium before tragically being burned down in the Green Meadow fire of 1993, which would itself inspire Mr Duquette’s last work, The Phoenix Rising From its Flames.

After his death in 1999, the site was left in disarray and devastation for eight years until it was bought and architect David Randall Hertz was assigned to build a house on the site.

Mr Hertz’s initial idea was to create a floating cantilever roof that would obstruct as little of the breathtaking view of the Santa Monica mountains as possible, with a design concept that reminded him of the wings of an aeroplane.

That is when he wondered if instead of trying to make a complex roof construction from scratch whether it would be easier and cheaper to use real wings from an old, decommissioned aeroplane.

Ultimately he successfully pitched the wing idea to his client and bought a $25m Boeing 747-100 for $30,000. The old Trans World Airlines jet was used for over 20 years before being retired in 1992 and needed to be detoxified and cut apart before it could be used.

Famously, the wings were airlifted by helicopter and fitted into place, and despite the great expense of this transportation, the cost was significantly lower than a conventional roof construction and allowed the house to be built with minimal foundations.

After several years of applications for approval from 17 government agencies, the house was completed in 2013.