Halle 3, Base aérienne de Payerne

In 2016, the consortium composed of RDR architectes SA as architect and leader of the Skywalker Team consortium, Ingeni SA as civil engineer, and BG ingénieurs conseils SA for HVAC-MCR, won the public tender launched by Armasuisse Real Estate for the development of the new Hangar 2 and Hangar 3 at the Payerne military airfield, the main base of the Swiss Air Force.

The new Hangar 3 project involves designing a "hangar system" for helicopters and light aircraft. The project integrates all functions necessary for aircraft repair and maintenance, as well as troop training: flight service and repair hangars, offices, workshops, storage areas, meeting rooms, cafeterias, and dormitories.

The site is characterized by two main elements: to the north, the curve of "La Petite Glâne" waterway, and to the south, the tarmac whose surface must be preserved for operations.

Located north of the runway, the project replaces several demolished obsolete buildings. The layout follows the classic principle of aviation hangars. Logically, the hangars are placed on the tarmac side to the south; other functions are situated to the north, across multiple levels, thus protected from runway noise.

The project's design principles express a synthesis between site, use, and structure.

In response to the site's characteristics, the plan's geometry varies through offsets to adapt to the site and preserve the tarmac surface. These setbacks generate the main entrances and accommodate distinct programs. The resulting volume decomposition also allows control of the building's scale (over 350m long).

The cross-section, dictated by use, adapts to the varied dimensional needs of the hangars, with structural spans reaching up to 38m. The use of sawtooth roofs, a typical industrial form, brings natural light to users and adapts to variations in structural spans.

The form, a rigorous expression of typology and programmatic specifics, presents itself as a volume of varied geometries creating a silhouette in the "greater landscape" that escapes monotony, arising not from a "forced" architectural gesture but from the very nature of the program.

The facade expression seeks to reinforce the power of form through the choice of an industrial and sustainable material: natural aluminum cladding, monochromatic, with variations derived from sheet metal texturing: trapezoidal or flat, solid, perforated, or semi-perforated. These variations address the facade's varied situations and needs: transparency, protection, access, and ventilation. The fifth facade, the roof, which represents a considerable surface area, houses nearly 2,990 photovoltaic solar panels.

Inside, the choice of materials follows the same principle, using raw materials in an "industrial" expression: white steel framework, wooden ceiling in the hangars (with structural function), concrete, steel, and aluminum.
The entire project uses this material palette for ceilings, walls, floors, and woodwork, with the rule being, as with the facade, to vary the treatments of the same material (perforations, anodizing, raw expression, etc.).

The landscaping follows the requirements of the "Nature Landscape Army" (NLA) program of the DDPS (Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport):

- Planting of native plant species adapted to the location.
• Exterior arrangements that don't trap wildlife and meet the requirements of the Wildlife Hazard Prevention Plan (WHPP).
• Preferential use of topsoil from the Payerne Air Base.
• Installation of vegetation grids for parking spaces (maximizing limitation of impermeable surfaces).
• Control of exterior lighting on the north side, along Petite Glâne (no enhancement of the north facade) to avoid disturbing wildlife.

Building energy and technical systems:

- Certification: Designed for Minergie ® Standard label
• Heating and DHW: Connection to the air base's district heating system.
• Renewable energy production: 2,990 photovoltaic solar panels (5,839m2) at 1,280.85 kWp