GOLD COAST AIRPORT the possibility of a Gold Coast Airport city 28.1656° S, 153.5091° E QLD, AUSTRALIA
Integrated airport city model: Re-inenting Gold Coast Airport as a Destination City A design brief presented by Phillip Naude under the supervision of Prof Karine Dupre to The Masters Program in Architecture, in the subject of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning Griffith University Gold Coast June 2018
Contents Context
project intent global context scope objectives concept
Airport City Model Airports From Above Relevance and the airport city model History of GC airport Privitisation of Australian Airports
Site Analysis proposed site current functions program sizes accessibility passenger types comparison proposed transport tourism in the Gold Coast urban quality noise threat future development urban strategy
Currumbin Valley Cu
Cobaki Lakes Future Dev
Precedents Cobaki Creek
Queensland sla New South th Wales
OSLO Airport Incheon Airport & Songdo China Mexico City
Proposal
Functions & Sizes Design considerations
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01 | CONTEXT
G C A
GOLD COAST AIRPORT CITY 2018 ©
GOLD COAST AIRPORT The gateway to the central east coast 28.1656° S, 153.5091° E QLD, AUSTRALIA
intent Based on prior research, it has been identified
that Gold Coast Airport is experiencing immense growth over the past decade and is projected to grow to over 16.6 million passengers per year by 2037, up from the current amount of 6 million (GCA Master Plan, 2017).
Globally, it is recognised that most airports serve their primary function as a fulcrum for national and international travel.
This project identifies and seeks to outline
the potential for a uniquely considered purpose built airport city for the chosen site of the Gold Coast Airport. The Airport city model will integrate city like functions that are considered in the context of an airport around the adjacent land of the airport fringe. This will aim to turn Gold Coast Airport into a destination hub that will give passengers a unique arrival and departure on a world class level to encourage future visits and strengthen connects to the wider pacific rim.
A unique airport city model can integrate with the urban fabric to not only accommodate the growth in passenger numbers but also in turn provide functions that provide further employment opportunities for locals. The new airport city will endeavour to improve the current architectural and design quality of the airport and its adjacent land use through contemporary and innovative multi-purpose functions that considers the contextual setting of the wider Gold Coast region to act as a central hub for South East Queensland.
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GOLD COAST AIRPORT
context
Australian Passenger Market Shareof Gold Coast Airport
2000
2.3% 2015
4% 2016
6m 2037
16.6m 03
GOLD COAST AIRPORT CITY 2018 Š
scope The project will feature a new airport city master-plan with
a restructured airport terminal along with new and revised functions around the terminal by utilising local and surrounding resources. This will be to improve the passenger experience whilst further encouraging economic for stakeholders and the Gold Coast region. Then an architecturaly focused development will occur focusing primarily on the Airport Terminal with consideration to the larger masterplan. The proposed model, although unique to the Gold Coast will address certain challenges and opportunities that are inherit to other privatised airports around Australia and can thus provide a guideline for a future airport city typology for other cities.
current airport size
objectives The project’s primary aims will be to develop a synergy between urban planning and airport planning. This relies on the specific development of a unique sub regional airport city plan for the Gold Coast. The plan will need to be versatile to allow for the changes that the industry might experience over the next century as the design will have to be resilient for at least that period. Finally the new GCA will: Integrate with the surrounding context, Embed specific program that responds to noise concerns, Provide for the passengers, community and airport stakeholders Link the airport with the wider QLD and NSW region Utilises natural resources available in the Gold Coast
conceptual themes
SYNERGY
through ocean
BALANCE in nature
GATEWAY destination
The Gold Coast Nexus - The Pacific Ocean - Endless light - Natural synergy - Balance
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AIRPORTS FROM ABOVE
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02 | AIRPORT CITY MODEL
freight office
wellness education
buffer
terminal
tech e-commerce entertainment
access
buffer
AIRPORT city model
residential
THE
“The term aerotropolis was first used in 1939 to define an airport that would be situated among buildings and perhaps even have a runway on top of them” (Max Hirsh - Airport Urbanism, 2010). Max Hirsh critiqued the airport city or aerotropolis model however, stating that the design intent wasn’t contextually considered enough and only focused on capitalisation of commercial revenue streams with the inclusion of generic business parks and parking facilities as opposed to a more locally considered and user centric, airport urbanism model that could benefit passengers and the local community as well. John D Kasarda‘s Holistic Airport City Model
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PRIVITISATION OF AUSTRALIAN A I R P O RT S
According
to the Governments Airport Act of 1996 (Airports Act 1996, 2000), twenty-two of the of airports in Australia are regulated under this act, whereas, the land adjacent to the airport is regulated under council planning laws (Commonwealth of Australia, 1996). According to Stevens and Baker (2012), “in Australia, this has resulted in a dichotomy of planning systems with airports falling under Commonwealth jurisdiction and surrounding lands controlled by local governments�. Furthermore, due to the privatisation of Australian airports that took place over the last 20 years (Hooper et al, 2000, Bromby, 2017), airport landowners have greater flexibility to develop without interference from the government, meaning they can prioritise return on investment for the owners. This capitalist notion has contributed to consider airports as a holistically designed urban environment by prioritising only one of the pillars that ensures successful urban planning.
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03 | SITE ANALYSIS
FUNCTION
CURRENT AERONAUTICAL FUNCTIONS
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tourism in the
GOLD COAST The tourism market is a primary driver of passenger traffic to the Gold Coast and has become a popular holiday destination visited by many cultures from around the world. As the airport becomes increasingly busier, airport stake holders in Australia and in particular in the Gold Coast will seek to benefit from this volume to encourage further economic benefit to the airport business model.
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o f pass engers a rriving to the G old Coas t are on l eis ure trips
Furthermore the increased pressure from incoming tourists has caused demand for more efficient transport infrastructure to integrate the airport with city functions. However, in many cases globally airports are isolated from their cities and thus the airport city model was popularised in 2000 by John Kasarda as a possible solution to develop a user centric destination hub at the airport with functions built around it. Currently however, the Gold Coast Airport site is limited by its surroundings and has not yet adopted a unique tourism centric airport city model
GOLD COAST AIRPORT
ECONOMIC
CONTRIBUTION
$545m
t o t h e re gi on a l e c on om y i n 201 6
14,740 full time jobs c u rre n t l y
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+38,012 jobs by 2037 i n t h e re gi on
ARCHITECTURAL QUALITY brick exterior noise exposure
industry
single level non related
impact
LOCAL COMMUNITY
PASSENGERS
- some employment opportunities - poor environmental design approach
- no immediate incentive - poor visual interest
The architectural quality is comparatively lower to areas
near the city and the current program is under utilised. In all 3 cases, Residences are dated with old construction methods not resilient to noise impacts. Commercial areas are single modal and un-related to airport commerce resulting in lower tourist and local engagement.
STAKEHOLDERS - occasionally part of lease - airport service specific
From this it is evident that, if these areas are left as is and continued to follow the same method they are now in, the problem will only get worse, with irrelevant program scattered throughout causing an even greater gap between airports and cities. This leads to adverse impacts on the stake holders economic motives, reduces the passenger experiences and local community involvement.
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NOISE CONCERNS 1.1 The Human Perception of Noise In psychology a theory exists that states that our perception of visual and auditory objects can be altered through a simple pattern consistent with the sensory information and the experience we have in that moment (“Sound and Noise - Human Perception of Noise”, 2018). As this occurs, our perception of annoying noise can effectively be reduced simply by misleading the visual connection from the noise. The effect of the noise source can thus be greatly reduced through simple methods. Although in Practise the concern is much greater as the long term effects of loud noise near airports has led to studies by Dr Martine Kaltenbach, Dr Christian Mashke and Dr Rainer Klinke. In their study, ‘Health Consequences of Aircraft Noise’ they discuss the results of the ever-increasing level of air traffic resulting in higher amounts of aircraft noise. Their results show the health risks involved for people who are constantly exposed to this environment.
With recorded decibel ranges between 60dB in the day and 45dB at night, this can commonly lead to higher levels of blood pressure, around a quarter of the population being greatly annoyed by the daytime exposure of noise higher than 55dB and outdoor exposure of higher than 50dB is associated with relevant learning difficulties in children. These concerns are constantly being worked on and invested in to provide adequate living and working environments around these hubs that have become such an integral part of our lives. Although the noise can not be silenced, there are some ways to attempt to reduce the overall level and affects on the population.
1.2 Principals of Noise Mitigation Various Studies have identified some physical methods of attempting to mitigate, reduce and redirect air craft noise affects. Unlike road noise and rail noise unfortunately, as soon as the aircraft is in the air, the sound becomes omni present and affects a much greater area.
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1.3 Aircraft Noise This has led to a lot of the focus to be placed on airlines and airplane manufacturers to improve engine efficiency and develop more noise resilient aircraft bodies. Recently, contemporary aircraft design has seen a great reduction in noise from the source in models such as the Boeing B787 producing 60% less noise than an aircraft comparable in size, the Boeing 767. Figure 1a Aircraft Noise Sources
1.4 Noise Reduction at Transmission Path Various methods exist to attempt to block or divert noise coming from air fields although, as mentioned, such attempts only provide mitigation on ground level. Airports were originally planned outside and isolated from cities primarily due to this reason. By simply separating two components, noise can be reduced. However, in the case of an airport city, various barrier strategies can help reduce noise impacts. Physical barriers are common in rail and highway scenarios although uncommon in airport runways, a similar effect can be created through earth bunds or undulating natural landscapes. Schiphol airport has used this strategy with its newest runway, helping to disrupt the propagation of sound along the ground. This strategy however requires additional land take and to local pressure for development land. Vegetated barriers & Tree belts Various materials can also be used as they have various acoustic characteristics and will thus respond differently. In a laboratory conducted experiment done by Joo Young Hong and Jin Yong Jeon, “barriers covered with vegetation increased the perceived noise barrier performance with increasing aesthetic preference and preconceptions of noise reduction� (Hong & Jeon, 2014).
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NOISE CONCERNS Health, well-being and the effect of noise in urban residential environments Another study attempted to examine whether the perceived connection to a green space affected the various aspects of well-being in a group of 500 residents. Naturally, green spaces are favoured by all as it is important for well-being and can help reduce long-term noise annoyances and the prevalence of stress symptoms as noted.
ANEF TABLE
In this study, Gidlöf-Gunnarsson and Öhrström note the importance of establishing ‘quiet zones’ whether it be indoor or outdoor and allow easy access to these spaces. The result is a lower perceived audio-visual noise exposure as the green spaces act as a buffer or moderator to these adverse effects. A ‘quiet zone’ in this case was defined as an area where residents can have access too on at least one side of their building that had a noise level of less than 48dB on ground level at a distance of 2 meters from the facade (Gidlöf-Gunnarsson & Öhrström, 2007).
1.5 Land-Use Planning Effective land-use planning also acts as a strategy through physical building as it can act as a barrier to other areas that are more susceptible to the long term effects of noise exposure such as residential areas, schools, hospitals etc. Car parking facilities along with industrial warehousing is commonly found around the fringe of airports primarily due to this reason. Based on typical sound thresholds for certain activities, residential areas have much lower acceptable decibel ratings as opposed to concert halls, industry warehouses etc.
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To measure this threshold and develop a standard for appropriate zoning, the ANEF metric was adopted based on a modification from the United States Noise Exposure Forecast System. “The ANEF is the only metric approved and promoted by the federal Government for assessing the suitability of land use against aircraft noise” (GCA Masterplan, 2017). In light of this, AS2021:2015 provides a recommended land-use compatibility table with various building types based on an acceptable, conditionally acceptable and unacceptable ranking. For reference, houses, hotels, hospitals and schools are considered acceptable for development in zones less than 20-25ANEF. Commercial buildings and industry, acceptable within a 30-40ANEF rating.
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DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS SITE & SUB-REGIONAL SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS
ACCESS CORRIDORS
PARKING FACILITIES
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COBAKI LAKES
RESIDENTIAL RELOCATION
NOISE IMPACT
OCEAN PROXIMITY
RESILIENCE TO SEA LEVEL
VIEWS
FUNCTION
CURRENT AERONAUTICAL FUNCTIONS
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The Oslo Airport City Masterplan Released earlier in 2018 by Haptic Architects and Nordic Office of Architecture, features incredibly well considered planning initiatives that consider not only the current shift of air transport but attempts to plan for what the air transport industry might look like in the future. The project seeks to develop the world’s first net energy positive airport city in the Norwegian Capital. By utilising green technology the airport can provide energy for surrounding communities and act as an environmental core for its surrounds. The city embodies the environmental approach by reflecting this in its design beyond the airport terminal by incorporating natural waterways on the site for users to interact with. Various other green spaces and a completely walk-able city truly aspires to develop a new city based on the aerotropolis model first envisioned by Kasarda. Courtesy of NDA Planning
Dalian Aeropolis, the Balanced City / NDA Planning “Dalian Aeropolis, the Balanced City, introduces a vibrant new urban quarter whereby the city’s existing resources and NDA’s innovative development concept blend together in perfect harmony” “NDA’s masterplan concept provides a balanced and sustainable land use by ensuring a dependable water supply for the future with the creation of manmade lakes while simultaneously providing the necessary topsoil for the large reclaimed area taken from the sea. The idea was unanimously approved by Dalian’s committee. NDA’s ‘Balanced City’ concept also recognizes the importance of integrating Dalian’s existing fishing and agricultural resources with the creation of a natural green sanctuary and the development of local communities in modernized villages” (Furuto, 2011).
Courtesy of Haptic Architects and Forbes Massie
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04 | PRECEDENTS
Airport City Stockholm Airport City Stockholm, in cooperation with Swedavia Swedish Airports(state), Sigtuna municipality, and Arlandastad Holding (private real estate). With a conscious effort to integrate planning and airport design parties, an urban design strategy to build a miniature CBD right in front of the airport has been proposed with a focus on urban design quality and sustainability. Sky City: Sky City is the airport city’s ”Downtown”, a dense city centre with pedestrianfriendly streets and beautiful parks. It has a mixture of offices and hotels and every conceivable service for both workers and travellers. This unique international atmosphere is one step away from the rest of the world. Courtesy of Foster & Partners
New Mexico City Airport ‘its design provides the most flexible enclosure possible to accommodate internal change and an increase in capacity. mexico has really seized the initiative in investing in its national airport, understanding its social and economic importance and planning for the future. there will be nothing else like it in the world.’ – lord norman foster.
Courtesy of Dinell Johansson & Spacescape
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FUNCTIONS
A LIST OF FUNCTIONS AND THEIR PROPOSED SIZES
THE MASTERPLAN The Project has been separated by the primary
functions that will occupy the new airport city site based around passenger types, Gold Coast characteristics and amenities that can further encourage economic growth to the growing region.
The
main terminal will be extended to accommodate the growing passenger numbers with the entrance being publicly accessible from the main Gold Coast Highway. The terminal will feature common airport functions internally with a connection to the surrounding program. Car parking facilities will be located on either side providing long and short term covered parking with long term uncovered located off site but still within a comfortable walking distance through the main centre. An axis splits the city perpendicular to the runway with functions primarily entertainment and tourism orientated for passengers with a secondary layer hosting mixed use business and commercial facilities and some short stay residential options in the outer layer furthest away from the noise impact. An undulating green belt will surround the runway to help reduce the psychological effects of noise as well as the ground noise acting as a noise buffer. As part of the buffer, sports facilities will be placed in louder noise affected areas due to similar noise impacts.
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PROGRAM
SIZE (sqm)
Covered Car Parks (2 Buildings)
180,000
Uncovered Car Parks
60,000
Hotel (2 Buildings x 8 Floors)
28,000
Short Stay Accommodation
52,500
Concert/Stadium
65,000
Commerce/Retail/Food precinct
42,000
Casino/Entertainment
35,000
Office/Business Park
20,000
Exhibition Space
15,000
Leisure
5,000
Medical
40,000
I + D Terminals
COMPARATIVE
70,000
Brisbane Passenger Numbers
23.2m (2017)
Auckland Passenger Numbers
14.5m (2017)
PROGRAM
SIZE (sqm)
Brisbane International
42,560
Brisbane Domestic
41,000
Brisbane Parking Facilities
400,400
Auckland International
44,221
Auckland Domestic
17,183
Auckland Parking Facilities
252,211
05 | PROPOSAL
PROPOSED FUNCTIONS
A REGIONAL PROGRAM PROPOSAL SEPARATED BY ZONE
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