A new annual ring for Hangar 3
Wester+Elsner are working together with Svenska Handelsfastigheter on the development of Hangar 3 in Bromma Blocks – a historic aircraft hangar that is now being developed for a new generation of retail.
The site has a strong connection to Swedish aviation history. When Bromma Airport was inaugurated in 1936, it was described as “Sweden’s gateway to the world,” and the former hangars are still an important part of the area’s identity. In Hangar 3, the original function is clearly readable through the building’s large scale, robust materials, technical details, and generous space.
The project involves a comprehensive restructuring of the commercial area with new shops, entrances, and customer flows. The starting point is to develop an attractive and contemporary commercial environment while preserving the building’s cultural and historical qualities. Therefore, the hangar’s large-scale volume, roof structure, lanterns, and natural skylights are central elements in the design.
Externally, the characteristic features of the building are preserved and highlighted. The large hangar doors, tracks, rails, and technical details tell of the building’s former use. Two new entrances are added with large glass facades and protruding canopies, designed to create clarity and accessibility while harmonizing with the hangar’s original language of form and scale.
Internally, the design continues to build on the interaction between the existing and the new. The robust industrial architecture is combined with a softer and more refined formal language, where materials, colors, and light create a cohesive whole. New additions are subordinated to the large hangar volume so that the structure, space, and skylight can continue to be experienced.
The ambition is to create a long-term attractive marketplace where the new architecture does not compete with the existing, but enhances it – and where Hangar 3’s history continues to be a clear part of the place’s identity and experience.
