Inspiring urban projects and policies from across the nation have been recognised for their pioneering contributions to Australia’s built environment in the 2014 Australia Award for Urban Design last night.
New South Wales scooped the pool with two awards and a commendation and Western Australia was close behind with one award and two commendations.
The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory also shared among the spoils, and a project team of heralded urban planners and designers capped their stellar careers with a new award conferred for the first time ever.
The winners and commendations were announced at a gala dinner at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra last night (Monday 14 July). The Award, hosted by the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), acknowledges the critical role good urban design plays in the social, economic and environmental development of our cities and towns.
PIA President Dyan Currie said the award program served to reinforce the power of urban design to solve and prevent some of the challenges emerging among urban environments around the world.
‘Having just returned from overseas, I have seen first-hand that many of challenges facing Australia as our population flocks to the cities are confronting urban designers and planners the world over,’ Ms Currie said.
‘But it was heartening to see that innovative approaches to urban design have succeeded in tackling these challenges throughout the cities I visited, and tonight demonstrates that urban innovation in Australia is alive and well.’
Ms Currie said it was difficult to define a single theme connecting the successful projects. Rather, she said, they were best defined by their diversity and the innovations they showcased.
AAUD is Australia’s premier award for excellence in urban design and is hosted each year by PIA and supported by the Australian Institute of Architects, the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, Consult Australia, Green Building Council of Australia, Property Council of Australia and the Urban Design Forum. This year the Award patron was former Sydney Lord Mayor Lucy Turnbull AO. The Award was supported by Gold Sponsor Think Brick.
The Australia Award for Urban Design was first presented in 1996 after being proposed by the Urban Design Task Force under former Prime Minister Paul Keating.
Category
DELIVERED OUTCOME – Large scale (two awards given)
Award: NewActon Precinct, Molongo Group/ Fender Katsalidis/ Oculus (ACT)
Award: Prince Alfred Park and Pool, Neeson Murcutt Architects, Sue Barnsley Design, City of Sydney (NSW)
DELIVERED OUTCOME – Small scale
Award: Fremantle Esplanade Youth Plaza, Convic, City of Fremantle (WA)
POLICIES, PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS – Large Scale (no award winner)
Commendation: Pilbara Vernacular Handbook, CODA Studio, Landcorp (WA)
Commendation: Darwin City Centre Master Plan, City of Darwin, Northern Territory Government, Design Urban Pty Ltd (NT)
POLICIES, PROGRAMS AND CONCEPTS – Small scale
Award: The Goods Line, ASPECT Studios with CHROFI for the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (NSW)
Commendation: Thinking outside ‘the box’: Key design elements for apartments in Ku-ring-gai, Ku-ring-gai Council Strategy and Environment Department (NSW)
Commendation: King’s Square Urban Design Strategy, CODA Studio, City of Fremantle, Creating Communities Australia (WA)
SUSTAINED CONTRIBUTION TO URBAN DESIGN (new award)
Award: Urban Voices – celebrating urban design in Australia, Bruce Echberg, Bill Chandler, John Byrne