2024 Waikato/Bay of Plenty Architecture Awards Winner
Hamilton Kirikiriroa Airport
What started as a furniture refresh evolved into a multi-year refurbishment and seismic strengthening project that would challenge the design team to deliver a coherent and welcoming place. At the crossing point of transit between earth and sky, arrival and departure, there is now a clear cultural identity that speaks to site and context. The design stripped back clutter and a motley collection of materials and objects that had gathered like lost luggage over time. The result is clear wayfinding, connection between spaces, improved functionality, flow and performance in a welcoming environment. The cultural narrative established at the outset enabled a clear story to be manifested in design and detailing. It speaks of the site’s former position as a crossing point of pathways and trading routes and was used as a touchstone by the wider design team, other disciplines and artists. The hero is the patterned ceiling, a protective cloak symbolising intersecting paths and life’s cyclical patterns, which unifies disparate existing roofs.
- Practice
- AWA Architects
- Category
- Interior Architecture
- Location
- Waikato/Bay of Plenty
