Melbourne Jet Base provides a new benchmark in the business travel marketplace. This purpose-built facility is a new gateway for Melbourne and Victoria, redefining the arrival and departure experience by catering for the exacting demands of the high-end traveller. It provides a bespoke portal to connect national and international travellers to Melbourne. Specifically, it seeks to redefine the entry and departure experience for clientele in the growing private jet market where the travel requirements of foreign dignitaries, celebrities, sports stars and high net-worth individuals demand levels of access, discretion and security well beyond those of the normal airline commuter.

Situated in a discreet location at Melbourne International Airport Tullamarine, the facility boasts 24 hr access to full-length runways, two expansive hangars with ancillary ground support spaces, in-house customs and immigration screening, generous pilot support areas, function spaces and high-end guest facilities more akin to the world’s finest luxury hotels. At the heart of the Jet Base precinct is a historic DC3 aircraft. Lovingly restored by the client team, this unique, historic and now fully operational aircraft provides a unique backdrop to the luxurious foyer spaces and a memorable focal point when its purpose-built hangar space is operating as a function space.

Photos: Peter Clarke

Melbourne Jet Base’s architectural expression is defined by its elegant winged form, articulated using aviation-inspired materiality and a play on the poetic tension of earth and sky. With subject matter rich in metaphor and mythology, the design of the built form explores the dynamism of flight while drawing on the poetic tension of earth and sky, and encompasses typically Australian themes of shelter, shade and overhang.

Inspired by the country’s distinctive diverse landscapes with its startling sculptural forms, and vivid colour palette, the building’s warm interior spaces embrace a uniquely Australian palette of materials, textures and colours, designed to both calm and comfort those in transit. The project palette distinguishes between a foundational base plane and the inserted sculptural forms located throughout the terminal which reflect the influence of the sleek design of aircraft. Melbourne Jet Base effectively blends the operational requirements of an airport terminal and the amenity and services of a first-class lounge, being capable of handling 200 private aircraft per month. Offering private customs and immigration screening, à la carte dining and boutique hotel-style suites, the Melbourne Jet Base is undoubtedly Australia’s most impressive airport terminal.

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SAM LOCK, COX ARCHITECTURE – SPEAKER SERIES 2019

Sam Lock, presents the design of Melbourne Jet Base at Open House Melbourne’s 2019 ARBV Speaker Series.