Shropshire Star

Inflatable building tested

It is larger than an American football pitch and nine stories high.

Published
Designer of the inflatable building, Lee Barnfield from Oswestry.

The world's largest inflatable building, built by adventurer, Per Lindstrand, is being tested in a Shropshire field.

Executives from the Goodyear company in the USA have flown to Britain for the first look at the building that will house a Zepplin airship at their headquarters in California.

Lindstrand Technologies has developed skills learnt in the ballooning world into produced a range of other products, from buildings to stand-up paddleboards.

Per Lindstrand diversified from the hot air balloons that made him famous in record breaking flights with

Balloon adventurer, Per Lindstrand, is behind the company that has produced the hanger for Goodyear's American airship base in California.

Staff have been test inflating the enormous structure in fields just outside Oswestry.

The hanger has been constructed from 73 miles of polyester at the Lindstrand Technologies factory in Oswestry.

Mr Lindstrand said: "The building is 107 metres long, 32 metres wide and 25 metres high.

"If we laid the material out it would stretch from Oswestry to Chester and back."

The inflatable buildings produced range from small shelters for emergency zones and decontamination units to a roof for theHeathrow Airport Central Bus Station.

"Air cell structures are advanced constructions made with two layers of material with fabric formers in between. They are self-supporting by means of air fans with no need for foundations, hardware or guy wires. Air cell structures can be used in practically any environment and are ideally suited to both military and civilian applications," Mr Lindstrand said.

The Goodyear building is being test inflated on land at the British Ironwork Centre in Oswestry. The centre has teamed up with Mr Lindstrand for a Ballooing festival over the August Bank Holiday.