CASE STUDY NO 8
AUCKLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT –
DEPARTURE TERMINAL REDEVELOPMENT
JUNE 2020
STRUCTURAL STEEL SETS THE
THE FACTS
FRAMEWORK FOR MASSIVE AIRPORT
REDEVELOPMENT • Mostly built on an existing
steel structure from the 1970s
& 1990s
Driven by Auckland Airport’s goal to be future-ready, the transformational International • Spans eight existing terminal
Terminal Expansion project is an important milestone in its journey to increase the structures and comprises
Airport’s annual capacity. nearly 100 different interfaces
• Massive dwell roof structure
The project has almost doubled the size of the departure processing zone, reconfiguring represented 40 percent of the
the landside farewell area; building a new and expanded security screening and processing overall project with 3,000
area; and building a new passenger lounge and duty-free shopping hub. components
• 550-tonne crawler crane
It also included the removal of significant legacy structures, such as redundant mezzanine positioned airside to assemble
plant areas plus a bridge and stairs ‘to nowhere’. The reconfiguration improved the roof structure
flexibility of the terminal for future alterations and enabled higher ceilings and unified • Structural steel contractor
public spaces. The project offered a few key challenges, including a tight timeframe and expended 90,000 site hours
the need to minimise impact on passenger movements and disruption to flight schedules. and 40,000 factory hours over
an 18-month period
Given these constraints, the project team broke the work into three major parts: a new • More than $15 million of
immigration processing area to create a low-vibration environment, maximising open structural steel used
space in a much larger dwell area, and installing an extra centralised plant floor, and • 1,550 tonne structural steel
myriad lifts and stairs. To achieve these outcomes, a steel solution was adopted, offering
a lightweight yet flexible structural system, which proved to be a crucial factor in the
project’s success.
...
ENGINEER BECA ARCHITECT JASMAX & GENSLER STEEL CONSTRUCTOR D&H STEEL CONSTRUCTION BUILDER FLETCHER CONSTRUCTION
AUCKLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – DEPARTURE TERMINAL REDEVELOPMENT
“WORKING WITH STRUCTURAL STEEL IS A HUGE ADVANTAGE The roof structure represented 40 per cent of the
overall project, consisting of 3,000 components
IN CONSTRUCTION. NOT ONLY DOES ITS FLEXIBILITY ALLOW fabricated into 15 large trusses.
US TO COME UP WITH COMPLEX FORMS, BUT ITS LIGHTNESS ...
MEANT THE EXISTING STRUCTURE COULD BE STRENGTHENED
WITHOUT ADDITIONAL STRAIN. THIS IS A MASSIVE
SUSTAINABILITY WIN AS WE WERE ABLE TO BUILD ON THE
ORIGINAL DESIGN INSTEAD OF KNOCKING IT DOWN.”
- AARON BEER, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING, BECA
ENGINEERING double the dwelling space for passengers the sensitive scanner operation above the
without increasing the overall footprint. truck dock. The innovative use of Resotec,
At the concept design phase there were a constrained damping layer installed
two possibilities: demolish parts of the The existing steel building was made up under the ComFlor decking, absorbed
existing structure and build entirely new; of disparate structures with various ages vibrations and improved the dynamic
or re-use and adapt the existing buildings. and design standards, a unique situation performance of the floor. It also enabled
Structural engineer Beca completed a that challenged Beca to develop a large lighter steelwork to be used.
rigorous analysis of the existing structures Revit model of the terminal, partially
and determined that it was possible stitched together from original shop The design for the new level-three
to maintain a seismic performance of drawings produced in the 1990s for the plant floor had to consider the extra
100% NBS (new building standard) by last major airport expansion. The model load on the existing foundations. The
careful adaption while reducing the was supplemented with digital cloud original terminal design proved to be
number of seismic separations, which are scanning to establish an accurate exterior exceptionally flexible and analysis
problematic operationally. envelope. The Revit representation found it could cope with an additional
was used throughout the design and level. In terms of the piles, these are
The designers of the original 1970’s construction process from the base extremely difficult to strengthen
terminal showed considerable model for the new shop drawings, aiding in an operational building, and the
forethought by future-proofing the mechanical and electrical design, to geotechnical engineers managed to
structure with the use of robustly detailed construction planning. demonstrate sufficient redundant
structural steel. The original structure’s capacity. This was a tricky exercise as
use of the lightweight, adaptable The first part of the project was to there were no piling records. However,
material meant that large areas of the redesign and expand the immigration by collecting enough anecdotal
terminal could be re-purposed rather processing facilities. The design of this evidence, such as interviewing the now
than demolished, and allowed it to be area needed to support the functional senior citizens who installed the piles,
integrated and significantly expanded to brief of a low-vibration environment for it was possible to determine that no
The original 1970’s terminal was future-proofed
with structural steel, allowing the structure to be
ONE OF THE KEY OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS DESIGN WAS
re-purposed and expanded. The new terminal has TO RESHAPE THE PASSENGER DEPARTURE JOURNEY,
double the dwelling space without increasing the
overall footprint.
ELEVATING SOMETHING THAT CAN BE STRESSFUL OR SIMPLY
... PERFUNCTORY TO AN EXEMPLAR PASSENGER EXPERIENCE,
NOT JUST AT A NEW ZEALAND LEVEL, BUT ON THE WORLD
STAGE. THE FINISHED TERMINAL IS A TRUE TESTAMENT TO
EVERYONE’S INPUT.”
- NICK MOYES, PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT, JASMAX
strengthening was required if the weight a transition from land to sky. The ceiling of creative flexibility was required to
of the new structure was minimised. treatment expresses the swirling clouds adapt the architectural design to match
This was achieved with the extensive of New Zealand combined with a large sun the structure as it was revealed in the
use of optimised, lightweight custom- shower and a flock of migrating godwits – renovation process. Therefore, it was
welded beams and columns. although passengers are departing, they sensible to extend in the same medium of
will hopefully return just as the godwits structural steel, which has many benefits
do every year. – light, easy to work with and flexible, to
ARCHITECTURE name but a few.
The key architectural features of the
Jasmax, Gensler and artist Dr Johnston project were enlarging internal spaces While on site, one of the biggest
Witehira worked closely with mana of the departure experience – from the challenges was working within a live
whenua to weave the overarching farewell and retail area to the atrium and operating international airport terminal,
narrative, ‘A New Zealand journey from boarding the plane. There was a desire juggling site access with a busy retail
the Sea to the Sky’, into the architecture. to give a unique New Zealand feel and terminal, security and timings. Jasmax
The redesigned international departure experience of the outdoors, particularly credits working with structural steel as
experience aims to deliver a world- the sense of sun, light and fresh air, key to overcoming this challenge, with
class architectural solution, one which mimicked through the design. In the large all steel fabricated off site, allowing parts
enhances the passenger journey, retail area, the overriding objective of of the building to be erected swiftly with
represents our cultural identity and the structural roof design was maximising minimal disruptions.
creates a unique space where Aotearoa open space.
touches the world.
Architecturally, this project was a FABRICATION & ERECTION
The double height ‘Dwell’ lounge created little unusual in that the concept was
with a 50m long-span roof unites four constrained to the confines of the D&H Steel Construction has been involved
separate existing structures and serves as existing buildings. A certain amount with Auckland Airport’s development
AUCKLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – DEPARTURE TERMINAL REDEVELOPMENT
“THE COMPLEXITY OF THIS PROJECT WAS THE ON-SITE A 550-tonne crawler crane was positioned airside
to preassemble the trusses and lift them into
FABRICATION, DUE TO THE HUGE AMOUNT OF BUILDING final position, while maintaining normal airport
operations. D&H Steel developed unique material
WITHIN AND ON TOP OF AN EXISTING STRUCTURE. handling systems to manoeuvre the trusses around
STRUCTURAL STEEL WAS THE ONLY LOGICAL MATERIAL FOR the workshop and for trial fit-up, avoiding the need
for substantial shore-loading towers.
THE JOB, AND THIS PROJECT REALLY ALLOWS THE BENEFITS
...
TO SHINE.”
- RICHARD HINE, CONTRACTS MANAGER, D&H STEEL CONSTRUCTION
for almost 40 years and understands the site butt welds and magnetic particle critical to the overall programme. Because
the requirements of working in this testing of structural purpose category of the size, weight and number of trusses,
challenging, unrelenting, operationally site welds. Third-party weld inspectors D&H Steel developed unique material
live environment. At the peak of the visited the site almost daily to carry out handling systems to manoeuvre the
contract, D&H Steel had 36 staff on site the necessary analysis. trusses around the workshop and for trial
booking some 90,000 hours over the fit-up, avoiding the need for substantial
18-month duration of the project. In the large retail area, the overriding shore-loading towers. This meticulous
objective of the structural design was planning resulted in the overall success of
With the eight existing terminal structures maximising open space. The new atrium the fabrication.
and nearly 100 different interfaces, it roof structure represented 40 percent
was vital to have structural elements of the overall project and consisted of On site, a 550-tonne crawler crane was
and connections that could both be 3,000 components fabricated into 15 positioned airside and mobilised to
detailed with dimensional tolerances and large trusses, 4.5m deep, between 26m preassemble the trusses on the apron and
fabricated to match site measurements. and 52m in length and weighing 12-32 lift them into final position between 1am
Structural steel offered a lightweight but tonnes, delivered to site in transportable- and 4am. Every aspect of the fabrication
flexible structural system, which was a sized sections and stored landside. Having process was carefully considered,
crucial success factor. inhouse welded beam manufacturing from resource scheduling to logistics
enabled D&H Steel to fabricate custom- management. Despite some nights
The multiple interfaces to the existing welded beams to suit specific geometrical of poor weather, the fabrication and
structure involved 20,000 hours of site and strength requirements. installation of the trusses went incredibly
welding to form the connections. The smoothly while maintaining normal
specification required ultrasonic testing of The fabrication of the large trusses was airport operations.
