The winners of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects’ (AILA) 2020 National Landscape Architecture Awards have been announced, this time in the Institute’s first-ever virtual awards program.
Last night, the AILA recognised a total of 46 winners across 15 categories for exceptional practice, validating talent, commitment, and design excellence. Among the winners, 13 Awards of Excellence were delivered, acknowledging the most significant of work for advancement in landscape architecture.
AILA CEO, Ben Stockwin, said the AILA was pushed to explore a new and creative way to deliver the Awards announcements virtually following COVID-19 event implications.
“The pandemic brings many challenges but also presents an abundance of opportunities for landscape architects, so it was important that we were able to hold the Awards this year, to encourage innovation and excellence in built and natural environments, as we do each year,” Mr Stockwin shared.
“The fostering of awareness and recognition was crucial to the Landscape Architect industry this year as the continuation of organisational rituals and traditions are more important than ever to maintain peer support through this time of emotional need.”
“We were thrilled with the submissions that we’re received this year, and despite the global pandemic, the State and National Awards saw a record number of submissions, which just highlights the importance of our public spaces in a time such as now.”
Mr Stockwin said the Jury was pleased to see diversity and equity were consistent themes throughout the Awards this year.
“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 space and gardens. The Jury has recognised a handful of true standout projects in this space,” he said.
A hero in the category which recognises significant and in-depth inclusion of cultural values and knowledge, North Gardens Sculpture Park Landscape Master Plan received the Cultural Heritage Award of Excellence.
The collaborative force of Mandy Nicholson of Tharangalk Art, Glenn Romanis and Isobel Paton of BASALT Art Landscape Sculpture, and David S. Jones of Deakin University produced a strong and genuine consultation process with traditional custodians with Wadawurrung concepts of nurturing, healing, learning, sharing and cultural relationship building.
A Landscape Architecture Award in the Cultural Heritage category was also received by UDLA for its work in producing the University of Western Australia Cultural Heritage Mapping.
Assessing amazingly diverse work from different sectors and scales of practice, Sue Barnsley Designs took out the Award of Excellence in Small Projects for its Mahon Pool Amenities project, of which the jury described as “a simple yet memorable and poetic project which speaks of profound respect for its sublime coastal surrounds”.
Mahon Pool Amenities and Maroubra Seals Swimming Clubhouse by Sue Barnsley Design, image courtesy of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.
Three Landscape Architecture Awards in the Small Projects category were awarded to Openwork Pty Ltd for the RMIT Building 100 Pedestrian Improvements, the city of Marion for First Avenue Reserve and to SBLA Studio for System Garden Rainforest Boardwalk.
Five projects received awards under the Gardens category, representing the most awards presented under a single category.
Taking out the Award of Excellence for Gardens, the Arkadia Apartments project by OCULUS illustrated the role a garden plays in connecting residents. The project proved great thought leadership in the design and realisation of a productive, human-centric, high performing garden in high-density urban living.
Landscape Architecture Award-winning projects in the Gardens category include Clifftop Garden by Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture, Nightingale 2.0 by SBLA Studio, Domic by James Birrell Design Lab and 320 George Street by Fiona Harrisson and Simon Ellis Landscape Architects.
“Collectively, this year’s recipients continued to demonstrate and advocate the demand for excellence in landscape architecture, in both built and natural environments, that is essential to Australia and its people,” Mr Stockwin added.
Award of Excellence Winners in the AILA National Awards 2020:
Category: Play Spaces Railway Park
Project: Play NSW Plummer & Smith Bundjalung
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: Plumber & Smith
Aboriginal Nation: Bundjalung
Category: Infrastructure
Project: Eastern Regional Trails Strategy
State: VIC
Landscape Architect: Fitzgerald Frisby
Aboriginal Nation: Wurundjeri Woiwurrung
Category: Small Projects
Project: Mahon Pool Amenities and Maroubra Seals Swimming Clubhouse
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: Sue Barnsley Design
Aboriginal Nation: Eora
Category: Gardens
Project: Arkadia Apartments
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: OCULUS
Aboriginal Nation: Eora
Category: Cultural
Project: Heritage North Gardens Sculpture Park Landscape Master Plan, Ballarat
State: VIC
Landscape Architect: Tharangalk Art, Romanis + BASALT: Art + Deakin University
Aboriginal Nation: Wadawurrung
Category: Health and Education Landscape
Project: Liyan-ngan Nyirrwa (Cultural Wellbeing Centre)
State: WA
Landscape Architect: Nyamba Buru Yawuru / MudMap Studio Yawuru
Aboriginal Nation: Yawuru
Category: International
Project: Feng River Park
Location: China GVL Gossamer
Category: Community Contribution
Project: Murama Healing Space & Dance Ground
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: Murama Cultural Council in partnership with the Sydney Olympic Park Authority
Aboriginal Nation: Wangal
Category: Land Management
Project: Small Creek Naturalisation – Stages 1 and 2
State: QLD
Landscape Architect: Landscapology and Bligh Tanner
Aboriginal Nation: Yuggera
Category: Research, Policy and Communications
Project: Report on culturally appropriate First Nations consultation with Barkandji Maljangapa Nation
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: Jock Gilbert and Sophia Pearce, RMIT University Landscape Architecture Discipline
Aboriginal Nation: Barkandji Maljangapa
Category: Landscape Planning
Project: Siting and Design Guidelines for Structures on the Victorian Coast
State: VIC
Landscape Architect: REALMstudios
Aboriginal Nation: All of Victoria
Category: Urban Design
Project: Central Park Public Domain
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: Turf Design Studio with Jeppe Aagaard Andersen (TURF with JAAA)
Aboriginal Nation: Eora
Category: Civic Landscape
Project: The Garden of Cloud and Stone
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture
Aboriginal Nation: Eora
Landscape Architecture Award Winners in the AILA National Awards 2020:
Category: Play Spaces
Project: Paperbark Playspace
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: Phillips Marler and Parramatta Park & Western Sydney Parklands Trusts
Aboriginal Nation: Darug
Category: Play Spaces
Project: Barrow Park Play Space
State: WA
Landscape Architect: Ecoscape Australia Pty Ltd
Aboriginal Nation: Nyoongar, Whadjuk and Beeliar
Category: Infrastructure
Project: Oaklands Crossing Grade Separation Project
State: SA
Landscape Architect: ASPECT Studios and Cox Architecture
Aboriginal Nation: Kaurna
Category: Infrastructure
Project: Aerodrome Road Intersection
State: QLD
Landscape Architect: Hassell
Aboriginal Nation: Gubbi Gubbi / Kabi Kabi
Category: Small Projects
Project: RMIT Building 100 Pedestrian Improvements
State: VIC
Landscape Architect: Openwork Pty Ltd
Aboriginal Nation: Kulin
Category: Small Projects
Project: First Avenue Reserve
State: SA
Landscape Architect: City of Marion
Aboriginal Nation: Kaurna
Category: Small Projects
Project: System Garden Rainforest Boardwalk
State: VIC
Landscape Architect: SBLA Studio
Aboriginal Nation: Wurundjeri Woiwurrung
Category: Gardens
Project: Clifftop Garden
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture
Aboriginal Nation: Eora
Category: Gardens
Project: Nightingale 2.0
State: VIC
Landscape Architect: SBLA Studio
Aboriginal Nation: Wurundjeri Woiwurrung
Category: Gardens
Project: Domic
State: QLD
Landscape Architect: James Birrell Design Lab
Aboriginal Nation: Kabi Kabi
Category: Gardens
Project: 320 George Street
State: VIC
Landscape Architect: Fiona Harrisson and Simon Ellis Landscape Architects
Aboriginal Nation: Kulin
Category: Parks and Open Space
Project: Sunvale Community Park
State: VIC
Landscape Architect: Brimbank City Council
Aboriginal Nation: Kulin
Category: Parks and Open Space
Project: Julia Reserve Youth Park
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: JMD design
Aboriginal Nation: Dharawal
Category: Parks and Open Space
Project: Minda Coast Park
State: SA
Landscape Architect: Oxigen Pty Ltd
Aboriginal Nation: Kaurna
Category: Parks and Open Space
Project: Dyuralya Square
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: OCULUS
Aboriginal Nation: Eora
Category: Cultural Heritage
Project: University of Western Australia Cultural Heritage Mapping
State: WA
Landscape Architect: UDLA
Aboriginal Nation: Whadjuk Nyoongar
Category: Health and Education Landscape
Project: Paringa Park Primary School
State: SA
Landscape Architect: Peter Semple Landscape Architects
Aboriginal Nation: Kaurna
Category: International
Project: Dragon Skin River – The Ecological Spine of Xi’an
Location: China
Landscape Architect: Gossamer
Category: International
Project: Singita Kwitonda Lodge, Rwanda
Location: Rwanda
Landscape Architect: Context Landscape Architecture
Category: International
Project: LOOP – Pioneering Community Consultation for Shanghai’s Laneways
Location: China
Landscape Architect: Gossamer
Category: Community Contribution
Project: The Living Pavilion
State: VIC
Landscape Architect: Clean Air & Urban Landscape Hub (CAUL) along with others
Aboriginal Nation: Kulin
Category: Community Contribution
Project: Saint Joseph’s Nature Play Master Plan
State: WA
Landscape Architect: Ecoscape Australia Pty Ltd
Aboriginal Nation: Miriwoong
Category: Tourism
Project: Mindeerup Piazza South Perth Foreshore
State: WA
Landscape Architect: PLACE Laboratory
Aboriginal Nation: Noongar
Category: Land Management
Project: Your Parramatta Park 2030 – Conservation Management Plan and Plan of Management
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: Parramatta Park Trust
Aboriginal Nation: Darug
Category: Research, Policy and Communications
Project: Contemporary Art and the Transformation of Space into Place: Lake Burley Griffin and contour 556
State: ACT
Landscape Architect: Harris Hobbs Landscapes
Aboriginal Nation: Ngunnawal and Ngambri
Category: Research, Policy and Communications
Project: Sunshine Coast Design Strategy and Book
State: QLD
Landscape Architect: Sunshine Coast Council
Aboriginal Nation: Jinibara and Kabi Kabi People
Category: Research, Policy and Communications
Project: Sunshine Coast Design Strategy and Book
State: QLD
Landscape Architect: Sunshine Coast Council
Aboriginal Nation: Jinibara and Kabi Kabi People
Category: Landscape Planning
Project: Darwin Civic and State Square Masterplan
State: NT
Landscape Architect: TCL with Troppo
Aboriginal Nation: Larrakia
Category: Landscape Planning
Project: Urban Tree Canopy Cover Study Gold Coast
State: QLD
Landscape Architect: Arup
Aboriginal Nation: Yugambeh People
Category: Landscape Planning
Project: Maribyrnong Waterfront IWM
State: VIC
Landscape Architect: REALMstudios
Aboriginal Nation: Kulin
Category: Urban Design
Project: The Rocks Laneway
State: WA
Landscape Architect: UDLA
Aboriginal Nation: Yamatji
Category: Urban Design
Project: South Eveleigh Youth Space
State: NSW
Landscape Architect: Convic
Aboriginal Nation: Eora
Category: Civic Landscape
Project: Brunswick Civic and Cultural Precinct Upgrade
State: VIC
Landscape Architect: Moreland City Council
Aboriginal Nation: Wurundjeri Woiwurrung
