Ports of Auckland Car Handling Facility

Ports of Auckland Car Handling Facility
+ The Lightship

Client | PORTS OF AUCKLAND

TYPE | Architecture

SECTOR | Transport + Infrastructure

STATUS | COMPLETE (2020)

Location | AUCKLAND, NZ

HEIGHT | 5 STOREYS

SCALE | 35,000 sqm

COST | $37.5 M

Photographer | SIMON DEVITT

AWARDS | 2022 New Zealand Commerical Project Awards - Industrial - Gold

Plus are currently appointed by Ports of Auckland to master plan and develop concepts for the POAL 30-year master plan. The scope of work includes the concept development of the new POAL administration building, automated straddle carrier hanger and maintenance facility and a multi-level Car Handling Facility.

The Car Handling Facility is the first project to be delivered as part of the POAL 30-year plan (Stage One). Stage Two is a multi-functional facility to house the automated control centre to administrate the port’s fleet of new drone shipping container cranes. Stage Three involves the design of a green park overlay along the length of the Port to allow for better integration with the city proper. With the port’s unique location close to the CBD, Plus has designed a green, usable space to soften the transition between city and port.

The new Car Handling Facility was designed with a simple vision in mind: to create a functional piece of architecture to maximise efficiencies for port operations whilst also providing a structure that would stand the test of time and illicit a positive response from the public.

Ports of Auckland forms the backbone of freight logistics and transport not just for New Zealand’s largest city but also for most of the Upper North Island. The new structure is more than just a transport facility, it serves as a catalyst for better public engagement in this area of Auckland’s waterfront and future proofs the development as both the city and waterfront evolve over the next 30 years.

The result is a unique, statement building which is both functional and aesthetically pleasing, giving back to the Auckland waterfront. The clever design of the facility delivers a compact building, increasing car capacity, reducing the amount of space taken up by imported vehicles on the harbour by stacking the vehicles vertically.

Plus were engaged to provide full architectural services for this unique project. Commencing in 2018, the project reached completion at the end of 2020. The structure was opened to the public to great fanfare with the unveiling of ‘The Lightship’, the 110-metre-long digital light wall which wraps around the western and southern walls of the Car Handling Facility and serves as the newest site for large-scale contemporary art display in Auckland.

As well as creating a platform to celebrate local artists and the creative community, the facility features the world’s largest soil-based vertical garden on its southern wall. The hanging gardens feature over 3,800 plants (including 30 different species, of which 75% are New Zealand natives).