A hangar as landscape—half-buried, half-revealed, and engineered to make aircraft feel weightless.
Britain's largest aviation museum.
Featured in Foster + Partners's definitive monograph, Norman Foster: A Life in Architecture.
Visitor Guide
Give yourself time to read the building from outside before you go in: the earth berm and the curved span are the first exhibit.
Exterior approach where the curved form emerges from the berm; late afternoon adds shadow depth to the shell and makes the massing legible.
Open daily with seasonal hours: typically 10:00–16:00 (winter, last entry 15:00) and from late March 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00). Ticketed site: adult standard tickets are around £28.60 (pricing can vary by season and donation options).
The building’s section is a curatorial device: it’s designed so aircraft can be suspended and seen in dramatic silhouette against the big volume, not parked like cars in a shed.
3-5 hours
Design & Structure
Long-span exhibition engineering driven by curatorial sightlines and aircraft sizes; the architectural ‘computation’ is in load paths, suspension planning, and crowd movement through an enormous volume.
Concrete/steel long-span systems + big, durable interior surfaces suited to aviation-scale objects and high visitor wear.
Long-span hangar shell/arch logic built to carry massive roof loads and accommodate suspended aircraft—scale is the engineering headline.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed Imperial War Museum Duxford?+
Imperial War Museum Duxford was designed by Foster + Partners and completed in 1977. It is located in Duxford, United Kingdom.
Where is Imperial War Museum Duxford located?+
Imperial War Museum Duxford is located in Duxford, United Kingdom. Its coordinates are 52.0931°, 0.1294°.
When was Imperial War Museum Duxford built?+
Imperial War Museum Duxford was completed in 1977. It was designed by Foster + Partners.
Can I visit Imperial War Museum Duxford?+
Imperial War Museum Duxford is a real building in Duxford that can be viewed from the outside. Check local information for interior access and visiting hours. Use the Parametric Atlas walking tour feature to plan a route that includes this building.