When I was a kid my father occasionally took my brothers and me to watch military aircraft take off and land. He knew of a road that cut through what was an FAA tech center near Atlantic City NJ known as NAFEC – the National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center. At the time, it had the largest hanger space in the world, was the third alternate landing site for the space shuttle, and was the location of the first airshow in 1910. We would pull the family station-wagon to the shoulder of the road right at the end of the main runway and watch the planes for hours. The jets seemed so close we could touch them. My fifth year architectural thesis project was a flight school at the community college directly adjacent to that former FAA tech center – it had been converted to the Atlantic City International Airport by then. Part of my design strategy included using salvaged aircraft parts as raw building material. The reviewers who attended my final presentation thought the notion was preposterous.

The Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson AZ is the world’s largest military aircraft graveyard. It’s often referred to as The Boneyard, however, boneyard is a generic term used to describe facilities that store aircraft retired from service. In nearby Pima AZ is the Pinal Airpark, home of the Evergreen Aircraft Maintenance Facility, one of the largest storage locations for decommissioned commercial aircraft. Although these two are among the largest of their kind, similar facilities exist throughout the world. The dry southwestern United States is ideal for aircraft storage. The arid climate reduces the potential for oxidation. Prior to the attacks on 9/11, anyone looking to salvage parts or components from the aircraft stored at these facilities had reasonable access. Since then, the U.S. government has changed the regulations and old parts are significantly more difficult to source.

For visionaries and artists like Dave Hall and Donovan Fell, owners of the Torrance CA-based MotoArt, new restrictions limiting access to what they see as raw material for their business means they’ve had to search for parts farther afield. But it hasn’t stopped their business from growing. Both are what I would consider glass-half-full people. They see opportunity everywhere. For more than a decade Dave and Donovan have been converting salvaged aviation components into amazing furniture that’s functional and beautiful art. Had they been sitting in on my final thesis review, the outcome may have been quite different.

Read more on tour: MotoArt