The Rock, Wellington Airport’s controversial international terminal, has won the Transport category at the prestigious World Architecture Festival in Barcelona. With 11 awards already won, the design by Studio Pacific Architecture in association with Warren and Mahoney, has captured the attention of many people throughout New Zealand and the world.
A radical departure from the imagery of lightness and flight common to airports worldwide, the design was inspired by Wellington’s craggy sea-battered southern coast, evoking the anchoring qualities of the land.
The Rock has also won the Commercial Architecture category at the NZIA Wellington Architecture Awards, held annually by the New Zealand Institute of Architects to promote excellence in design and to advance the profession of architecture.
Wellington Airport itself has also picked up four awards this year, three from the New Zealand Airports Association, as well as being named Australasia’s Leading Airport at the World Travel Awards.
- Report and photograph by Peter Clark