The Rock at Wellington International Airport, Wellington, New Zealand

Wellington’s new international airport gets mixed reception
These two pumpkin forms are not a mirage. They represent a piece of an international passenger terminal, dubbed “the Rock”, which when built will comprise a major expansion and upgrade to Wellington’s International Airport in New Zealand. The NZ $39 million project, designed by Studio Pacific Architecture and Warren and Mahoney, is touted as becoming "New Zealand's newest iconic building", but has instead become the subject of ridicule according to the New Zealand press.
The project takes its design direction from its rugged South Coast location. The copper clad buildings are to have coloured fragments of glass in the roof fissure to let in a warm natural light by day and backlighting at night to create a glowwhich will be seen from the air.
Wellington Airport CEO Steven Fitzgerald has endorsed the project’s design saying,. “Our radical departure from traditional airport design worldwide is entirely deliberate. What is set to become New Zealand’s newest iconic building, ‘The Rock’, combines functionality and capacity with what will be a memorable visitor experience”.


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