Bay of Islands
Airport Terminal

Awards: 2020 Auckland Architecture Awards – Public Architecture

The Bay of Islands Terminal replaces the original facility built in the 1980s. The terminal provides for functions relating to departures, arrivals, car hire and café at ground level, with Management and Airline Lounge facilities located on a mezzanine level.

The shape of the building evolved from need to maximise the available site area and the OLS plane (which rises at a 1:7 slope from the centre of the runway). The resultant shape envelope was an elongated “lean to” shape with the high end to the west.

The terminal, characterized as a gateway, holds significant importance to the local Ngāpuhi iwi. In a series of meetings, stories of the area, the airport and its people were told and discussed. Local artists and crafts people were involved to enhance the project and provide a representation of their iwi. Examples include precast pattern designs, the sculpture garden, Māori carvings to entrances and exit points, and window manifestation designs.