Launceston Airport renewal makes further progress

Launceston Airport is set to undergo a multimillion dollar renovation to the building's Departures Hall - the next stage in an architectural masterplan for the precinct developed by Cumulus. For the sixty-year-old building, originally designed by Hansen Yuncken, the transformation is the largest in nearly 20 years.

CEO of Launceston Airport Shane O'Hare said the new Departures Hall experience is intended to capture the essence of the region for departing travellers.

"Launceston Airport has been Tasmania's tourism gateway for 94 years and as we embark on an ambitious vision for the future it's important that we celebrate and embrace the incredible history of this airport," he said.

The project involves an expansion of the Departure Hall's footprint to increase the leisure space for travelling passengers, as well as an overhaul of three amenity blocks and the addition of three new venues.

"These works, blending modern infrastructure design elements that capture our unique Tasmanian identity, are another step towards a complete terminal redevelopment which began with our $14 million Check-in Hall and security screening project and will continue next year in our Arrival's [sic] Hall," O'Hare noted.

The airport has undergone various upgrades since 2008, including transformation of the Launceston Airport Retail Hall by Buchan (formerly The Buchan Group) in 2017. Buchan's design for the building claimed an Award for Commercial Architecture at the Australian Institute of Architecture's 2017 Tasmanian Architecture Awards.

For the precinct's current renewal, Cumulus has worked with Launceston Airport to develop identities for the airport's new hospitality venues that aim to reflect the state's landscape, waterways and history in material and colour.

The new venues and expanded Launceston Store are set to open at the airport later this year.