RESA Tunnel, Wellington
Wellington Airport’s South RESA (Runway End Safety Area) tunnel was commissioned to provide an extra margin of safety and eliminate hazards at the end of the runway. While the primary work on the project was the engineering of the tunnel, completed by Beca, Studio Pacific was engaged as part of a site wide creative commission to provide design advice.
The construction of the tunnel was by standard cut and cover methodology, with precast concrete panels connected into the base slab to create the massive walls and further panels installed overhead as roof panels. A smaller series of wall panels curve around the eastern approach wall into the tunnel entrance.
Studio Pacific added colour and form to the engineering works with a series of bas-relief patterns, painted either white or vibrant orange, cast into the tunnel walls. Featuring adaptations of the markings previously painted on the runway above to guide the Douglas DC8 and Boeing 747-SP planes, the patterns preserve something of the site’s history, with both planes now withdrawn from use. Integrated lighting above the panels works with the patterns to create a theatre of colour and shape that unfolds as the journey through the tunnel progresses, while an air ventilation duct running along the opposite wall is carefully detailed with LED coloured lights to add further visual interest.
Outside the tunnel, wall panels are left uncoloured, with the sun’s shadows providing variation in tone. Patterns on the eastern tunnel approach walls refer to the contours of the land and its geomorphic strata, with a series of vertical markers gradually bending as if blown by wind or by geological pressure; the Wellington International Airport logo is also subtly integrated. The final cutout is infilled with an aluminium figurine, waving a welcome or a farewell to tunnel travellers.
Client: Wellington International Airport Ltd.
