Professor Richard Flay, a specialist in the effects of the wind and Professor Pierre Quenneville from the department of Civil and Environmental engineering, revealed that two huge wind tunnels and Australasia's biggest strong wall are being used in experiments, research and tests at Auckland University campus. The testing may reveal facts like how should cyclists best bend to reduce drag and how do new concrete or timber shear walls respond to severe earthquakes.

The first wind tunnel is a 25m long twisted flow with two 45kW fans. It was built in 1994 and was at two Tamaki sites before the university bought about 5ha of Newmarket. The second one is newer, closed-circuit duct wind tunnel that was built last year. Testing was done at the university to examine whether rain would enter the terminal via the two-level bank of louvres above the station.

Professor Flay stated that the duct model is used to investigate pedestrian-level wind environment for resource consents. The flow is measured and written in a report to say whether it complies with the District Plan. He also added that they measure wind pressures on models to help architects select glazing. This can also measure forces on buildings which can be helpful to structural engineers.

The tunnels are also being used to test the effects of the wind on yachts, high-performance bikes, cyclists, and historical sailing vessels used in Pacific voyages to help university anthropologists. Professor Flay said that these two wind tunnels are the only two of their kind in Auckland. These are of international standard, and there's nothing like this capacity in the whole New Zealand.