Haifa Port Cruise Terminal Design

Woolpert was engaged by Port Haifa to design a new two-berth passenger cruise terminal, handling up to 6,500 pax each way, replacing the current interim terminal. The facility can also serve a remote third berth. Woolpert collaborated with Mochly Eldar Architects to create a vision for the Haifa Port Waterfront Plan, transforming the industrial waterfront into a vibrant mixed-use area. Woolpert’s expertise in ports and maritime design was crucial in realizing the project’s vision of a pedestrian-friendly urban seafront and a future community asset.

The terminal design includes a full-service ground transportation area to handle both Homeport and Port of Call vessels. The design team worked with the government’s historic preservation board to preserve the existing concrete gable end walls and portions of the structural truss system within key public areas of the new terminal. The new terminal’s massing recalls the forms of the original warehouses, scaled to suit the required cruise terminal processes and occupying the original building footprints. Double-height atriums introduce both the new vertical circulation cores and the existing retained truss and gable end-walls, creating a guided vertical passage through history for cruise travelers.