When Francie Rehwald decided to add a couple of wings to her house, she didn’t fool around. As we reported in 2006, her decision to repurpose an old Boeing 747-200 into a house and outbuildings on her mountainside acreage in Malibu, Calif., raised some concerns at the time and the first phase of the finished result has had its public debut, The jumbo-sized wings form the roof of the home and based on photos released last week it looks like control surfaces are also used. The rest of the house appears to be floor-to-ceiling windows and the result, according to inhabitat.com, is a “curvilinear” home. Now that the main house is done, architect David Hertz and his imaginative client can turn their attention to using up the rest of the plane.
Hertz said the intent is to use every piece of the aircraft, which was purchased for $50,000 as salvage six years ago. The cockpit is to become a meditation center and there are plans for guest accommodations, a barn and other buildings. The plane-based structures will be strewn randomly around the property. When the FAA got wind of the plans five years ago it was concerned the property would look like a crash scene from above.
