Te Hono Airport Terminal Team Win Major Community Award

The team behind Te Hono – New Plymouth Airport Terminal have won an ACE Award for excellence in partnership and co-design.

Engineering consultancy Beca, local hapu Puketapu and council-controlled organisation Papa Rererangi i Puketapu took out the ACE New Zealand Community Award at the event on Tuesday 22 February.

The award recognises a project where the consultant, client, and community work together seamlessly to find solutions that deliver community-centred outcomes.

ACE New Zealand Chief Executive Helen Davidson said judges recognised Beca for its partnership and co-design approach with Puketapu to create an iconic gateway to the Taranaki region catering for more than 550,000 passengers each year.

“Te Hono is a fantastic example of what true partnership looks like and together these three organisations have delivered a remarkable outcome for the community,” Davidson said.

Puketapu have a deep bond to the airport site having had the land unceremoniously taken under the Public Works Act in the 1960s to build the original airport.

The project was an opportunity to step well beyond a normal consultancy role to establish an inclusive design process that would both acknowledge and transcend the conflicts of the past.

For Puketapu this project has given them a presence back on the land that was taken from them, by interweaving their cultural narrative throughout the form and function of the terminal building and also providing them with a commercial space, Tatai, to operate from in the terminal.

Beca also won a Merit Award for the project, which recognises consulting service that exceeds expectations.

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