The highly acclaimed Nelson Airport Terminal has been awarded GOLD at the 55th ACE Awards held in Auckland on 25 November 2020.

Dunning Thornton Consultants was contracted to provide the structural engineering design and coordination for the building.

The new terminal features a long-span folded-plate roof that has few supporting columns down the 105-metre length of the building.

Timber features extensively throughout the building, which was vital for this project, as the Nelson region has a strong forestry industry, and using local materials was essential to the client. This allowed the design team to make a financial investment in the local industry and benefited the environment by reducing the transportation of materials from outside the region.

The structural design of this building created a showpiece for value-added local materials. The scale and innovation of the new terminal was a huge challenge, but the success of the project is evident in the passengers’ reactions when they walk through the entry gate.

ACE New Zealand CEO Paul Evans said “This building featured structural innovation which has been well received by the client and the public alike. It was important that the building met both the operational and aesthetic requirements of the client and Dunning Thornton have come up with a superb design that also benefitted the community through their use of local material and people.”

Dunning Thornton Consultants carried out the design and consultation for the Nelson Airport Terminal for the client, Nelson Airport Limited.

About the awards:

The ACE Awards recognise consulting and engineering projects that achieve the highest level of innovation and excellence that result in outstanding outcomes. The judging panel evaluates the submissions, conducts client interviews and tours project sites. This work is then reviewed by a group of peers, which makes the Awards the pinnacle of achievement in the consulting and engineering sector. In 2020, 25 projects were submitted from a broad range of disciplines.

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