Description of Historic Place

Hangar 3 is a symmetrical, two-storey 'Standard Design,' 160' 0'' span structural steel hangar that features a slightly projecting entry bay, horizontal bands of windows on the lateral bays, broad brick piers at either end of the hangar to house the large steel doors, and an arched roof. Along with two other hangars, Hangar 3 forms part of a hangar line that is located on the northwest-to-southeast runway facing onto the aircraft apron at 4 Wing Cold Lake. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Hangar 3 is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical value:
Hangar 3 is associated with Canada's national defense and its commitments to international military preparedness under the Charter of the United Nations and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the buildup of Canadian military armed forces including the upgrading of its air component in the post-World War II era. Hangar 3 is also associated with Canada’s increasing role in air training in the early 1960's, in response to Canada’s commitments to continental defense under the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) agreement. Hangar 3 is one of the original 21 buildings associated with the establishment of the base in the early 1950s.

Architectural value:
Hangar 3 is a good example of modern architecture influenced by the International Style. The building consists of a “Standard Design” 160' 0"span structural steel hangar designed to house flight squadrons and also provide office space. Extremely functional, the design is based on engineering solutions and expressions, and features an enormous roof span, which was designed to handle snow loading, and a large, flexible work environment.

Environmental value:
Hangar 3 reinforces the military character of the hangar line on the northwest-to-southeast runway facing onto the aircraft apron at 4 Wing Cold Lake. Although the base has expanded considerably since the construction of Hangar 3 and the original 21 buildings associated with its founding, Hangar 3's generous grounds have been preserved.

Sources:
Dana Johnson, Nine Buildings, 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta. Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office Building Report 99-032.
Hangar 3, 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta. Heritage Character Statement 99-032.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of Hangar 3 should be respected, for example:

its role as an illustration of Canada's national defense and its commitments to international military preparedness during the post-World War II era is reflected in:

-the simple, functional design of the building including the arched, long span hangar space used for housing and maintaining the aircraft, the flanking lateral office and equipment storage spaces and central entrance, all book-ended by the two massive pocket door towers, which speak to the role of this 1950s Cold War hangar in training pilots, flight crews and support staff for Canada's air force.

Its modern functionalist aesthetic based on engineering solutions and expressions as manifested in:

-the integrated composition of the building consisting of simple, inter-related geometric forms such as the segmented arched roof of the principal space, the massive rectangular towers that house the telescoping, sliding steel doors, the two-storey flat-roofed office wings that extend along both sides of the hangar, the cubic entrance module, and the long lateral ribbon windows of the office spaces; and,
-the honest expression of the long span, three-hinged segmented steel truss arches which frame the bowed roof and create a large, austere, column-free space and extremely flexible space suitable for the storage and maintenance of aircrafts.

The manner in which the building reinforces the military character of the runway, as evidenced in:

-the legible hangar line formed by Hangar 3 and two other virtually identical structures along the east side of Hangar Lane Road;
-the open relationship between Hangar 3 and the asphalt aircraft apron on the south-east side of the building.