The Donyi Polo airport at Hollongi , Arunachal Pradesh gets a new attraction in the form of a welcome gate. The welcome gate named as the Great Hornbill Gate  is built over a 2500 sq. ft. area in the shape of the Great Hornbill, the state bird of Arunachal Pradesh and is exclusively made of bamboo and cane.

The height of the gate is 23 feet, and its width is 82 feet. The installation of the gate was completed in 5 months with 15 bamboo artisans working full time. It was built using two types of bamboo – Bambusa tulda (jati bamboo) and Bambusa balcooa (baluka).

The welcome gate has been designed by Aroty Panyang , a young Arunachali architect and  Founder & Principal Architect of STUDIOARO who hails from East Siang district. Aroty Panyang who has trained with various leading global sustainable architects, including BambooU, Bali and Jorg Stamm, Germany/Colombia took her bachelor of architecture degree from the Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Architecture, Pune (Maharashtra).

As mentioned Aroty Panyang  the gate has a long lasting durability and now bamboos can last a lifetime due to the development of new science in treatment and preservation. She further added that the bamboos used for the construction of the gate have been treated with two types of naturally occurring non-toxic salts – borax and boric acid powder. And once the bamboo is treated with these materials the longetivity increases and it can be preserved for several decades enhancing its capability in permanent structures.

Regarding the structure of the gate she said that since airport represents flight and the first airplanes were inspired by the flight of birds, it was important to consider this aspect in the design of the Donyi Polo airport gate. And hence the inspiration to design the gate was taken from the state bird of Arunachal Pradesh, the Great Hornbill which is a very special bird with very unique and distinct features and characteristics.

She also mentioned that the structure was built during the monsoon and since Arunachal Pradesh is known to receive some of the highest amounts of rainfall in the country hence monsoon was the  biggest challenge while designing the gate and hence in order to overcome this challenge, Aroty Panyang and her team prefabricated parts of the structure off-site, in a covered location thereby ensuring systematic and timely production of all requirements.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Pema Khandu took to twitter to congratulate Aroty Panyang for her creation ,   “Magnificent ‘Welcome Gate’ of Donyi Polo airport is a splendid creation by Arunachali architect Miss Aroty Panyang. In sync with our culture and collective vision of sustainable development, ‘Welcome Gate’ is made of Bambusa tulda and Bambusa balcooa. Proud of Miss Aroty! ½” ,  he wrote.

Magnificent 'Welcome Gate' of Donyi Polo airport is a splendid creation by Arunachali architect Miss Aroty Panyang.

In sync with our culture and collective vision of sustainable development, 'Welcome Gate' is made of Bambusa tulda and Bambusa balcooa. Proud of Miss Aroty! 1/2 pic.twitter.com/J24Tvs7aKR

— Pema Khandu པདྨ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་། (Modi Ka Parivar) (@PemaKhanduBJP) October 28, 2022