Maltese company constructing Tripoli airport hangar

by Franco Aloisio

A 2,500-square metre hangar at Libya's Tripoli airport is currently being constructed by a Maltese company - Pillow Space Frame Ltd. The construction of the hangar was commissioned by the Mediterranean Aviation Co. Ltd.

The hangar will house a Boeing 707 plane. The managing director of Pillow Space Frame Ltd, Martin Pillow, told The Malta Business Weekly that the work involves the design, manufacturing and erection of a hangar.

The materials being used include space frame structures designed exclusively by the company.

Mr Pillow said the company is working on other projects which make use of space frame structures. The company has been commissioned for the construction of the roof structure of the new 18,000 square metre Playmobil factory in Malta.

Over the past 10 years, the company has won several important contracts such as the structural set up of the recent Malta stand at the EXPO 2000 in Germany, the Coliseum set for the Gladiator movie, the dome structures at the National Arts Centre in Valletta, and the roofing of the first 10 warehouses in the industrial storage facilities at the Freeport.

Space framing is generally associated with temporary aesthetic structures such as concert stages and exhibition stands. However space frames are used also for many construction projects, such as factories, warehouses, dome structures and airport hangars.