2016 National Landscape Architecture Awards: Award of Excellence for Land Conservation

Gum Scrub Creek, Officer by Outlines Landscape Architecture Land Conservation: Award of Excellence Australian Institute of Landscape Architects

Jury comment

Creating a ten-hectare wetland in an urban growth area degraded by agriculture takes vision and quality of execution. Gum Scrub Creek is such a project. Located in Officer, Melbourne, the project has taken five years of planning to deliver and sets a benchmark for quality urban development.

Exploring the project even at a basic level reveals innovation in engineering interventions, including biofiltration systems and habitat ponds. But the results go deeper. The completed project reveals crafted natural patterns, architectural interventions and, most crucially, community pride. Combining natural restoration with creative stormwater management, the project provides a habitat for threatened species and promotes the restoration of diminishing ecosystems.

Once a farmers’ drain, Gum Scrub Creek has become a centre for community engagement and a developing natural environment to be cherished by generations to come.

Credits

Project
Gum Scrub Creek
Landscape architect
Outlines Landscape Architecture
Melbourne, Vic, Australia
Consultants
Consulting engineers Neil Craigie
Ecology consultant Biosis
Engineer Calibre Consulting
Project partner Melbourne Water Department of Environment, Land, Water Planning, Cities as Water Supply Catchments
Supplying nursery Officer Tubes & Blooms, Ecodynamics, Westernport Indigenous Nursery, Green Circle, Outlook Greenery
Vegetation and erosion consultant Australian Ecosystems
Site Details
Location Officer,  Vic,  Australia
Site type Urban
Project Details
Status Built
Category Landscape / urban
Type Conservation

Source

Award

Published online: 27 Oct 2016
Words: National Landscape Architecture Awards Jury 2016
Images: Nick Stephenson

Issue

Landscape Architecture Australia, November 2016

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