Hobart Airport redesign includes sustainable furniture
Green Furniture Concepts by Swedish designer, Johan Berhin, have been installed throughout Hobart Airport’s departure lounges as part of the redesign to expand and enhance guest experience. Focused on capturing the essence of Tasmania and creating a unique environment, the redesign incorporates a conceptual look and feel which follows the organic designs found in nature.
The Green Furniture Concepts, exclusively distributed by KFive + Kinnarps in Australia, was born from the idea of creating sustainable modern furniture made with natural and upcycled materials. Designer Johan Berhin wanted to create furniture with heart and soul which is both socially and environmentally responsible.
KFive + Kinnarps Founder and CEO, Erna Walsh, says that Green Furniture Concepts “brings the energy of the natural environment to the indoors and creates a sense of calm in any space”.
“The Green Furniture Concepts range has been used in a number of European airports as an eco-friendly seating & lighting solution, so it’s great to see it installed in Australia.”
Incorporated in the design is Green Furniture Concepts’ Nova C series, a sculptural seating solution that promotes natural flow control throughout the terminal. Made from oak wood, the design is contoured to ensure comfort for its users and create a space for both privacy and interaction.
Placed amongst the Nova C seating are the whimsical Leaf Lamps, an ambient lighting solution which echoes the organic designs found in nature. The Leaf Lamp is created using soft woollen ‘leaves’ that gently diffuse the light and filter out noise to create calm environments, quiet conversation and relaxation.
The redesign comes after a much-needed upgrade to the departure lounge after experiencing significant growth in traffic over the past few years. Hobart Airport CEO Sarah Renner explains that Hobart Airport is the “fastest growing airport for traffic with a six per cent increase each year since 2014.” With that in mind, the redesign saw 250-square-metres of extra space and 170 additional seats delivered.
“Seating is a big feature and the options around seating which include the Green Furniture Concepts as well as really comfortable armchairs and an incredible bar experience. We’ve added in green walls, lots of timber, additional power points and the beautiful felt trees, all these elements distinguish ourselves from other airports and bring something a little bit quirky that reflects Tasmania into the terminal,” says Sarah.
Leading the design of the project is Melbourne-based architecture firm, Hassell, who have a long standing history in delivering design concepts for terminal expansions including Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide airports. Head of the project is Adriano Denni who explains that the concept was “based on research of what makes Tasmania unique and special, and why so many people are choosing it as a travel destination.”
“We loved the idea of describing it as a place of ‘moments’. These moments are what make Tasmania and Hobart so memorable and so unique, and we believed that capturing these moments could be the element that ties Hobart Airport back to Hobart and Tasmania,” says Adriano.
He explains that the attraction to the Green Furniture Concepts range was the “simplicity of the furniture design, the look and feel of the timber, and the flexibility that the modular seating systems provide to create interesting and varied seating options for people in the departure lounge.”
This is just the first stage of Hobart Airport’s redesign, which was completed in December 2018. Hobart Airport is set to double in size over the next 11 years, which will create new opportunities for Tasmania in both tourism and export.
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