New Plymouth Airport wins gold at Annual Designers Institute Awards

The award-winning new terminal. Photo / Mark Scowen

The New Plymouth Airport's new terminal was a gold winner at the Designers Institute of New Zealand Best Design Awards on Friday night.

It recognises Māori storytelling and artistic expression and how that is infused into a resulting design through collaboration between designers, culture and environment.

The terminal was built on Puketapu's ancestral land and the hapū collaborated with the project team, design consultants Beca and builders Clelands to ensure their cultural heritage was reflected in the build.

The terminal was also a finalist in the Spatial Design Communication category, which reflects how a project uses its allocated space to create a tone and vibe while also acknowledges the tools, processes and efforts required to bring a project to fruition.

The Designers Institute Awards are the biggest of their kind in Australasia.

Beca project manager Matt Low said it was a thrill to have the Te Hono project recognised by the Toitanga award.

"It's been a huge collaborative effort by the whole project team and we are honoured to have this recognition for all those involved."

The airport terminal was also a finalist at last month's New Zealand Building Industry Awards.

A short film depicting the design and construction of the terminal is currently playing at the airport and is expected to debut at Puke Ariki early next year.