The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) revealed the winners of the 2020 National Landscape Architecture Awards in an online presentation on Tuesday 13 October.
In all, 46 entries were recognized across 15 categories, with 13 projects receiving Awards of Excellence across the program.
AILA chief executive officer Ben Stockwin said that while the pandemic had brought many challenges, it had also enabled many opportunities for the profession to innovate and progress the design of the built and natural environment.
“The fostering of awareness and recognition [through the national awards program] has been crucial to the landscape architect industry this year, as the continuation of organizational rituals and traditions is important than ever to maintain peer support through this time of emotional need.”
Stockwin said the jury was pleased to see diversity and equity were consistent themes throughout the 2020 awarded projects.
“We were particularly delighted in the strong presence of work that involved true Indigenous involvement and outcomes, work that catered for the disadvantaged or less able in society, and the strong representation of small spaces and gardens. The jury has recognized a handful of true standout projects in this space.”
North Gardens Sculpture Park Landscape Master Plan, Ballarat by Mandy Nicholson (Tharangalk Art), Glenn Romanis, Isobel Paton (Basalt: Art, Landscape, Sculpture) and David S. Jones (Deakin University) was recognized for its deep and genuine consultation process with the area’s traditional custodians, receiving the Award of Excellence in the Cultural Heritage category, with University of Western Australia Cultural Heritage Mapping by UDLA taking out a Landscape Architecture Award.
In the Small Projects category, Sue Barnsley Design’s “simple yet memorable and poetic,” landscape for the Mahon Pool Amenities and Maroubra Seals Swimming Clubhouse was recognized with the Award of Excellence.
The greatest number of awards was in the Gardens category, with five awards given out in total. Oculus’s design for the landscape of the Arkadia Apartments in Alexandria, New South Wales won the Award of Excellence, with projects by Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture, SBLA Studio, James Birrell Design Lab and Fiona Harrisson and Simon Ellis Landscape Architects receiving Landscape Architecture Awards.
The winners are:
CIVIC LANDSCAPE
Award of Excellence
The Garden of Cloud and Stone – Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture
Landscape Architecture Award
Brunswick Civic and Cultural Precinct Upgrade – Moreland City Council
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION
Award of Excellence
Landscape Architecture Awards
St Joseph’s Nature Play Master Plan – Ecoscape Australia
The Living Pavilion – Clean Air and Urban Landscape Hub (CAUL) with others
CULTURAL HERITAGE
Award of Excellence
Landscape Architecture Award
University of Western Australia Cultural Heritage Mapping – UDLA
GARDENS
Award of Excellence
Landscape Architecture Awards
320 George Street – Fiona Harrisson and Simon Ellis Landscape Architects
Clifftop Garden – Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture
Domic – James Birrell Design Lab
Nightingale 2.0 – SBLA Studio and Rebecca White
HEALTH AND EDUCATION LANDSCAPE
Award of Excellence
Liyan-ngan Nyirrwa (Cultural Wellbeing Centre) – Nyamba Buru Yawuru and Mud Map Studio
Landscape Architecture Award
Paringa Park Primary School – Peter Semple Landscape Architects
INFRASTRUCTURE
Award of Excellence
Eastern Regional Trails Strategy – Fitzgerald Frisby Landscape Architecture
Landscape Architecture Awards
Aerodrome Road Intersection – Hassell
Oaklands Crossing Grade Separation Project – Aspect Studios and Cox Architecture
LAND MANAGEMENT
Award of Excellence
Small Creek Naturalisation Stages 1 and 2 – Landscapology and Bligh Tanner
Landscape Architecture Awards
LANDSCAPE PLANNING
Award of Excellence
Siting and Design Guidelines for Structures on the Victorian Coast – Realmstudios
Landscape Architecture Awards
Darwin Civic and State Square Masterplan – TCL with Troppo Architects
Maribyrnong Waterfront IWM – Realmstudios
Urban Tree Canopy Cover Study Gold Coast – Arup
PLAY SPACES
Award of Excellence
Railway Park Play – Plummer and Smith
Landscape Architecture Awards
Barrow Park Play Space – Ecoscape Australia
Paperbark Playspace – Phillips Marler, Parramatta Park Trust and Western Sydney Parklands Trust
Para Wirra Nature Playspace – TCL
PARKS AND OPEN SPACE
Landscape Architecture Awards
Julia Reserve Youth Park – JMD design
Sunvale Community Park – Brimbank City Council
RESEARCH, POLICY AND COMMUNICATIONS
Award of Excellence
Landscape Architecture Awards
Contemporary Art and the Transformation of Space into Place – Neil Hobbs
Sunshine Coast Design Strategy and Book – Sunshine Coast Council
SMALL PROJECTS
Award of Excellence
Mahon Pool Amenities and Maroubra Seals Swimming Clubhouse – Sue Barnsley Design
Landscape Architecture Awards
First Avenue Reserve – City of Marion
RMIT Building 100 Pedestrian Improvements – Openwork
System Garden Rainforest Walk – SBLA Studio
TOURISM
Landscape Architecture Award
Mindeerup Piazza South Perth Foreshore by Place Laboratory
URBAN DESIGN
Award of Excellence
Central Park Public Domain – Turf Design Studio with Jeppe Aagaard Andersen
Landscape Architecture Awards
South Eveleigh Youth Space – Convic
INTERNATIONAL
Award of Excellence
Feng River Park – GVL Gossamer
Landscape Architecture Awards
Dragon Skin River: The Ecological Spine of Xi’an – Gossamer
LOOP: Pioneering Community Consultation for Shanghai’s Laneways – Gossamer
