Apr 24, 2009

New Christchurch Air Terminal


The Adelaide designed $110 million airport terminal begins to take shape at Harewood. The island's largest construction project is scheduled for completion in late 2010.


Photo credits: top; Rodd Taylor, bottom; dexigner.com

8 comments:

kuaka said...

How many cubic tonnes does the grain silo hold? And what is availability for leasing Feb - June, 2010?

signed,

interested mixed cropping farmer,
Carew, Mid Canterbury

Marcus Castell said...

Apparently the manufacture of a ton of concrete puts a ton of CO2 into the atmosphere. But no doubt we'll be subjected to the Greenie hype in the inevitable frenzy of self congratulation that will surround the terminal's completion.

kuaka said...

um, i was perhaps too oblique in my reference to the, ah, aesthetics of the control tower.

The rest looks like a bunch of shoe boxes strewn around the living room floor after a hectic afternoon's shop at the Riccarton Mall.

what is it with the ubiquitous cone shape in recent Chch public art & architecture, anyway?

Family have commented on the colour scheme - what I term "battleship gray" - now favoured for dwellings in new subdivisions.

Clearly feel i'm missing out on something here. Chch envy?

Marcus Castell said...

Not overly noted for wasting money on architect's fees, The Christchurch City Council's Harewood effort could not be mistaken for a design from the likes of Zia Hadid or Norman Foster.

But the adjacent old circular concrete tower, which dates from the 1940s, has been painted to resemble a can of Canterbury Draught beer - so much for the local aesthetic.

Matt said...

An alternative proposal from The National

Marcus Castell said...

Apparently this is the first airport in the Southern Hemisphere to claim carbon neutral status. With a ton of Carbon into the atmosphere for each ton of concrete poured into the new building this sort of hype discredits every media release from a company, which in fact, we the taxpayers actually own.

Kimby said...

I noticed that the information board in front of the construction site refers to the deliberate referencing of the shape of the chalice in the new tower's design.

It's pretty hard to miss, actually. I wonder if it will eventually be painted up as an ice cream cone, when the aesthetic value fades? having said that, I don't dislike the proposal. It's time for an update.

Marcus Castell said...

What has been the South Island's front door for the last four decades is certainly in need of an update. But you only get one shot at first impressions and this bland grey concrete structure might be considered as little more than reminiscent of a thirty year-old US mid-west shopping mall of the utilitarian Park & Spend variety. Further indicative of our time-warped bean-counter ethic; how long before the pretentiously alleged chalice-shaped control tower becomes just another "Your Message Here: 24 Hours - 7 Days" opportunity...