2013 Canterbury Architecture Awards Winner
Christchurch International Airport, Integrated Terminal Project
With a program that maximises the use of space through the careful handling of overlapping functions, this project is a clear distillation, of the circulation patterns and logistical requirements of large-volume air travel. Innovative planning allows the check-in hall to be used for both international and domestic departures, and the high ratio of self-service kiosks and compact check-in desks accelerates passenger processing. The clever use of passenger gates which swing from domestic to international, together with combined automated baggage handling, further simplifies flows within the terminal, as does a clear spatial progression that provides a clear route through the terminal. Lounge areas are relaxed, spacious and discretely well served by concessions to the periphery of spaces. Visual connections both landside and airside provide a clear sense of place, not only within the terminal but also within the wider context of the airport’s urban and alpine hinterlands, although the opportunity to make more of the terminal’s status as an international gateway is perhaps subordinated to the quest for technical rigour. A large commitment to ESD includes an artesian ground source heat exchange system that reduces the building’s carbon footprint. Also laudable is the realisation of such planning clarity through a multiplicity of construction phases during which the full operation of the existing terminals was maintained.
- Practice
- Warren and Mahoney Architects New Zealand Ltd
- Category
- Commercial Architecture
- Location
- Canterbury
