Your say: Wellington Airport's 'the Rock'

Stuff readers share their views on the design of 'the Rock' - Wellington's new international passenger terminal

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What do you think? Email your feedback to editorial@stuff.co.nz

 

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Latest posts at top

As an ex-pat wellingtonian living in Sydney I am shocked and appalled to see Wellington’s ‘the rock’ There’s clearly been some sort of astronomical mistake. Halloween isn’t until October. Therefore, giant pumpkins aren’t necessary for at least another 8 months.
- Leonie Everson

Sure, they look kind of silly. But I feel that any response other than "Mmm, that's nice and rectangular", can only be a positive thing. Why are people so upset about this? Come on, it's funny!
- Gareth Robb

I don't like it at all. It looks like a child's school paper mache project gone wrong. Maybe some pumpkins, or a couple of cheeseballs. It doesn't portray anything meaningful, i'm afraid.
- Michael Bradley

This new airport concept looks great. Congratulations again to Wellington for getting more adventurous architecture. Thank god its not yet another boring New Zealand square building with lots of glass.
- Tom Anderson

feel that the name given to this is a vain attempt to hide the true origins of the design. Twin Techno Halloween Pumpkins, hatched from the drug addled minds of some addled architect, who scribbled the design down, and while the drugs wore off struggled to find out what it was (s)he'd drawn, and settled on "The Rock". Perhaps that refers instead to a street name for the drug of choice of said designer? No matter, these will become a complete laughing stock, if implemented.
- Steve Carr

Frankly I’d rather Wellington Airport stopped behaving like the natural monopolist they unfortunately are and spent less money on indulgent things like this. We are rapidly approaching the stage where we’ll be giving more money to the airports at each end of the journey than to the airlines that actually carry us!
- Chris Auld

I like it – time to be radical and give travellers something to go Wow at – even if they don’t like it.
- Meryn Feather

Wellington will be a laughing stock around the world for years to come - not only will we be ridiculed for the Beehive but now we'll be ridiculed for "the Rock" as well! The Wellington Radio Station "The Rock" will be the only ones laughing ....
- Lesley Douglas

What an eyesore for first time visitiors to New Zealand. How can the CEO of Wellington Airport say with a straight face that the Rock was edgy and reflects Wellington's status as a vibrant and daring cultural city. When I first saw the picture I thought it was a picture of a pumpkin. Where do we get these designs from and who votes on what will be the final design.
- Pauline

I like the idea of breaking away from the boxes that usually occupy airports but it hardly seems to integrate with its environment. Aucklanders will probably refer to it as "the pumpkin" but who really cares. Something reminiscent of the legendary taniwha trapped in the area would be equally impressive and have a lot more local context and tourism potential.
- Peter O'Conner

I'm all for edgy design, but the 'rock' looks like a couple of grumpy pacmen and in 5 years everyone will be saying "what on earth were they thinking?"!
Tracie Almond

Either a couple of overbaked hot cross buns or a pair of burnt jacket potatoes!! NZers have been apologizing for our capital city’s airport terminal for many years and it looks like we’ll be doing it well into the future too.
- Barrie Clark

those are the ugliest buildings i have seen!!!! what is this world coming to??? what exactly is stylish sbout them??? No but seriously if they build those at the airport wellington will become a laughing stock to the rest of the county.
- Claire Munro

To be honest I have never seen something more ridiculous. Can someone truly say it is very functional for what Wellington Airport needs? Two big orange blobs is what it is going to look like from space. Surely something else that blends in with its surroundings would be better. It looks like a small Ayers rock in Wellington. While I am an ex Wellingtonian if I still was living there, it wouldn’t get my vote.
- Angela Vanner

Are our airport authorities and city council going to entertain the Flintstones in this building? We want a modern and functional international passenger terminal - not a stupid rock. Those who thought this up must have rocks for brains. You can be sure that this will not rock at all with the rate payers. At the opening ceremony can we stand there and throw rocks at it?
- Kelvin Ratnam

What a fantastic piece of urban design - NOT. More like a couple of pumpkins looking for a Halloween party. Will the cost of these be added to the airport surcharge and thus ticket prices? Bring back the aircraft hanger.
 - Phil Belcher

Ugly, anyone else reminded of those weird wooden pods that you open up and there is a jiggly fake spider or something in it? Commonly sold at tacky tourism shops... hinting at the "tacky" here
- Stacy Walker

I don't claim to know anything at all about architecture, but Wellington’s new airport design rather looks like it’s passed through a horse's digestive system.
- Emma Bell

I think it's a bit odd, I know that Wellington wants to always be better than the rest of the country, and I do like living here (Wgtn). But for some reason, this reminds me of Space Quest, the old Sierra computer games. I dunno, maybe you have to pick up a rock in it. I can't remember. Is it really necessary to ruin a perfectly functional Airport Terminal?
- Jeffrey Morahan

 

Wellington airport must have rocks in their heads to build something that ugly. Wellington's airport is one of New Zealand's best looking and functioning airports, so why on earth would they stick something that terrible out the front of it?
 - Alister (graduate architect)

If New Zealand wants to be taken seriously by the rest of the world why do always come up with these crazy gimmicks? While I applaud the architect's creativity and innovation, as a proud Wellingtonian I would be embarrassed that this is first thing that international visitors will see when they arrive here. Surely for $40 million a nice modern building that fits in well with the rest of the airport could be designed and built?
- Ben Black

Looks like we've found Johnny Knoxville's nuts! (Johnny Knoxville Jackass stunt goes horribly wrong)
- Scott Brown

 

You cannot be serious?  This is the ugliest, most un-ergonomic, embarassing piece of architechture I have ever seen.  The "Rocks" look like cubist turds. This is a joke isn't it?
 - Mara Bryan

 

It looks like Godzilla did a turd.
 - Steve Banks

 

I'm at a loss to find the appropriate words for this monstrosity. I am a young Wellingtonian who is right behind interesting and innovative design for our beautiful city but this has got to be some kind of joke? I don't know what is "iconic" about a couple of pumpkin like blobs, which is exactly what they will look like to Wellington's visitors. It will be a memorable visit indeed, but for all the wrong reasons.
- Angela Waller

 

It is fantastic to know there is one city in this country that wants to make New Zealand a place to remember. I don’t find the endless apartment building developments and the fancy new trees on Queens Street a draw card to my city. Wellington shows us that they have the guts to go out there and do things big and show the critics that kiwis actually believe in more then the square box: Cake Tin = Success and Te Papa = Success
- SO

 

More like the Crock! Who's going to build it? WETA Workshop! I'm sorry but having a pairing of buildings that resemble the results of a dog on a poor diet is not my idea of a gateway building designed to welcome visitors to the city. It is clear that Mr Fitzgerald has had a sales job done on him.
- Rhys Hall

 

They must be joking - musn't they? It looks totally out of it right now - in five year's time it will look outdated and plain ridiculous.
 - Tony de Joux

 

Absolutely Positively Hideous!!  I hope this is only a very,  very rough artists rendition.
 - Chris W
 

I think it looks like something out of the muppet show. The only thing it will probably reinforce is that we are stuck in the stone age, and when does Singapore Airlines fly to Wellington.
- Corey

They look like carpet mites!
- Rachel Devany
 

Absolutely appalling!
- J Findlay

It's great that they're willing to design something so interesting, but it does look like a pumpkin. Maybe it looks like a beautiful palace until the clock strikes twelve.
-Erica Challis

Hell!!! NO WAY. First impression when seeing the picture was of a couple of overgrown pumpkins sitting there. Second impression was of something that belongs on the set of The Flintstones cartoon movie. Send the architect (If thats what you can call him/her) back to school - a clean building with nice straight lines would be far more impressive and elegantand would be truly of an international standard.
-Grant Oehlrich

I just saw the video, and I think it looks awesome. The initial sight of the outside elicited flashbacks to Flintstones programs, but the journey through the inside really changed my mind. I think it will become quite an iconic building, if only the design goes ahead as planned. Please god the clients don't add 'improvements' and tamper with the concept so much it gets spoiled. Just a thought - which came first, the concept for the Rock, or the current carpet in the airport.
-Johanna Metcalfe

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