Nelson Airport Terminal

  • commercial

Nelson Airport Limited

Whakatū Nelson

2018

NZ Timber Design Award, Winner for Innovation Timber Engineering Award, 2023

NZ Timber Design Award, Highly Commended for Supreme Award, 2023

NZIA Nelson & Marlborough Architecture Award (Commercial Architecture), 2020

NZIA National Award (Commercial Architecture), 2020

NZIA Sir Miles Warren Award for Commercial Architecture, 2020

DINZ Best Awards, Gold Pin (Built Environment), 2020

New Zealand Commercial Project Awards (Civic) National Category Winner, 2020

New Zealand Commercial Project Awards (Civic) Gold Award, 2020

New Zealand Commercial Project Awards, Innovation Award, 2020


Studio Pacific has designed an award-winning new terminal for the airport that will meet the requirements of the airport’s anticipated growth.

The new terminal enhances the gateway experience of locals and visitors to the Nelson Tasman region and offer more space for seating, retail, lounges and toilets, along with larger areas for check-in and baggage handling.

Visually, the building is particularly evocative and reflects the region through its compelling use of locally sourced timber structural elements. These have been crafted together to provide an unusual innovative roof structure that refers to the surrounding mountains and is an efficient combination of folded plates and beams at the same time. The building has structural resilience to enhance long term durability, supports sustainability through its use of local timber and is generally naturally ventilated as part of an energy saving strategy.

Construction of the new terminal commenced in May 2017. Stage 1 of the terminal was completed in late 2018, and Stage 2 was completed in 2019.

NZ Timber Design Award, Winner for Innovation Timber Engineering Award, 2023

NZ Timber Design Award, Highly Commended for Supreme Award, 2023

NZIA Nelson & Marlborough Architecture Award (Commercial Architecture), 2020

NZIA National Award (Commercial Architecture), 2020

NZIA Sir Miles Warren Award for Commercial Architecture, 2020

DINZ Best Awards, Gold Pin (Built Environment), 2020

New Zealand Commercial Project Awards (Civic) National Category Winner, 2020

New Zealand Commercial Project Awards (Civic) Gold Award, 2020

New Zealand Commercial Project Awards, Innovation Award, 2020