Taupō Airport Redevelopment

Taupō Airport is a key transport hub and a strategic asset for the Taupō region for both tourism and business activity. The Airport is home to commercial passenger transport, aviation tourism, agricultural aviation, flight training and recreational aviation. The client wanted a bigger 930m2 space and services to accommodate larger 50 seat aircraft. The new space needed to be big enough to include security screening for the future.

GHD implemented a project plan to deliver a coordinated multi-disciplinary design of fire, electrical, civil, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural engineering services and provided a comprehensive range of services from initial concept design to construction monitoring. Throughout the design and construction GHD also worked collaboratively with all stakeholders to fulfil our client’s vision and meet the unique project requirements. Sustainable, resilient, and seismically safe design construction methodologies were employed together with acknowledgment to mana whenua and local Iwi.

Key design features within the Terminal include a 4-tonne Mauri stone positioned to match the silhouette of the mountains in the distance and the two 6-metre-tall rimu trees that cantilever from the floor. Gifted to the Airport by local Iwi, both featured elements presented GHD with exciting and challenging design criteria. Design of a structural support for the 4.5-tonne trees was especially challenging, as specific material testing of the rimu identified a significant moisture content within the timber, which required a unique connection to allow for shrinkage of the tree over time. Of the 1 metre outside diameter of the trees, the outermost 150mm of sapwood was not structurally viable which presented further challenges. GHD structural engineers creatively designed a connection between a steel column and the heartwood. The final solution was achieved under the guidance of master carver Delani Brown by cutting a notch (with a chainsaw) in one side of the tree and nesting the steel column within. The Mauri stone was embedded in concrete on a thickened slab with additional dowels drilled into the base of the stone to prevent overturning.

There are a lot of services packed into this small building including what has been called, the “shortest baggage conveyor in NZ”. GHD worked seamlessly with stakeholders in the airline industry to accommodate specific design criteria, including additional passenger loads, with room to grow as the demand to travel to and from the Taupō region increases. Consideration was also given to the floor layout and underfloor services required to support installation of security screening hardware, including floor boxes for power and data should regional screening be implemented in the future.

The successful design and construction of the Taupō Airport Terminal has delivered a sustainable, modern facility for the Taupō region and future proofed the facility for growth. The terminal will be an important part of the Taupō community for many years to come.