Ruukki are delighted to have been involved in the creation of a new branch of the indoor skydiving centre, Hurricane Factory. Hurricane Factory offers customers a unique experience: flying and floating in a weightless atmosphere in the company's vertical wind tunnel.

Ruukki delivered the Ruukki Forma façade system for installation on the exterior of this new five-storey building. The system included both sandwich panels and façade claddings for the walls. The cladding products used were Cor-Ten S7 façade profiles, Liberta Elegant 500 rainscreen panels and T20 steel profiles.

Design driven by functionality

The wind tunnel technology is the core of the Hurricane Factory’s offering; therefore, this needed to be the primary consideration. However, the building’s appearance was also of great significance, in part due to its prominent position near the soon-to-open Berlin Brandenburg Airport. Naturally, it would be highly visible and as such must look intriguing and appealing to potential visitors.

As the images show, the building itself looks just like a production facility: a conscious vision Ruukki are proud to have helped to realise. ‘The factory-look supports the idea of the building and is aligned with our company name’ explains Jakub Weck, Hurricane Factory's managing director. ‘The same idea was also used inside the building where, for instance, the walls have been altered to look like concrete walls.’

New experiences with adventure in mind

The Hurricane Factory welcomes both first-time visitors keen to try something new, and experienced skydivers in training.  The company also regularly receives work groups on team days, looking for a bodyflying experience alongside seminar facilities and quality catering.

The flying experience takes place in a specially-balanced air-flow glass tube, with an upthrust generated by six turbines to create a feeling comparable to the free fall from a 4,000 metre aircraft.

Jakub Weck stated that the Hurricane Factory’s aim was a bespoke facility that also supported the company’s corporate image. He said of the construction: ‘The building is unique and differs from the others in the area. That has been our goal and it is also our strength. I am pleased both with the appearance of the building and with the materials selected, and highly satisfied with Ruukki's deliveries.’

The new centre opened in 2017, and in located in Brandenburg, south of Berlin, close to Schönefeld Airport. It is the latest Hurricane Factory facility, with sites in both Prague and Madrid.