Gold Coast Airport Existing Terminal Retail and Operational Optimisation
Gold Coast Airport’s (GCA) Departures Lounge and Retail Upgrade is a nod to the passenger experience—a comfortable and convenient gateway for visitors and residents. Cohesive wayfinding, reconfigured security arrangements, and a refreshed departure hall champion a ‘Clarity, Visibility and Legibility’ approach to design, led by DesignInc’s integrated architecture and interiors team.
Retrofitted retail infrastructure greatly expands passenger circulation and orientation, housing a combination of new and retained retail and food areas optimised for peak-hours. An open northern concourse, complete with cohesive finishes and new kiosk tenancies, carry GCA’s ‘Hinterland to Coast’ interiors strategy and palette.
Enhanced Passenger Experience
The project included a refurbishment of the departures hall, integrating new retail and food and beverage options to enhance the traveller experience. Key features include reconfigured seating with modern furniture, redesigned gate portals, and an improved orientation point with upgraded wayfinding signage. These changes streamline navigation and create a more inviting atmosphere. Spatial upgrades include a new raised polycarbonate smoke baffle delivering a spacious and open interior. Accessibility is prioritised with a new Changing Places facility, offering enhanced services to those with additional needs, and thoughtfully branded to reflect GCA’s commitment to inclusivity and care.
Solving Challenges through Innovation
Working in a live terminal required phased construction to minimise passenger disruption. Design solutions included integrating new flooring into existing structures and reconfiguring seating to balance comfort and flow. Collaborating with retailers was crucial to align tenancy guidelines with cohesive terminal aesthetics, balancing operational demands with elevated design. Upgrades to the smoke baffle involved addressing latent services, while new joinery and furniture enhanced usability and visual appeal of the departures lounge.
Sustainability Initiatives
Aligned to DesignInc’s values, the project embraced sustainability with carbon-neutral carpet tiles, furniture reuse, and eco-friendly materials. Recycled flooring and acoustic wall panels, crafted from 100% recycled materials, minimise environmental impacts of construction. The removal of redundant mezzanine plant introduced natural light, reducing energy consumption and enhancing passenger comfort. These measures underscore GCA’s commitment to eco-conscious design while maintaining functionality and aesthetic integrity.
People
Transport
Better and more connections, in a travel experience that is enjoyable and humanising, is the hallmark of great transport systems.
Insight
Nguluway DesignInc Celebrates Three Years!
It’s been three years since Nguluway DesignInc began, and we’re proud to have made a huge impact through our projects, our culture, our people and events. Projects In our first three years,…
Insight
2023: Sustainability, Social Responsibility and Design Excellence
As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good time to reflect on the progress and accomplishments of the past 12 months. For DesignInc studios in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, it has been a year of community engagement, growth and celebration.
Insight
Reconceiving Utilitarian Urban Spaces
From Burying Highways to Tactical Urbanism and the Impactful Stuff In Between. Our urban environments are layered—the result of decades or even centuries of private development, public infrastructure and incidental componentry yielding an often unwieldy, uncoordinated aggregation.
Insight
Brisbane Joins DesignInc’s Reconciliation Journey
DesignInc Brisbane is proud to be the latest DesignInc studio to have our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan formally endorsed by Reconciliation Australia, marking our commitment to work towards the greater respect, understanding of and opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Insight
Redfern Station—Mist over the Landscape
After a number of years of planning, consultation, design and construction, the new southern concourse at Redfern Station is open. The precinct design is underpinned by a wetlands theme, with the concourse building described as the ‘Mist over the Landscape’.
