Australia’s best public urban landscape project for 2013 is a landmark waterside precinct at Tweed Heads.

The first stage of Jack Evans Boat Harbour has been named Best Overall Project in the 2013 Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia Public Domain Awards.

Recognising the innovative and functional use of concrete to enhance the public domain, the awards are held every second year.

Landscape architects ASPECT Studios design the Jack Evans Boat Harbour project, which has seen a tired, uninviting foreshore transformed into an engaging new civic space and tourist attraction on the NSW-Queensland border.

An arching promenade – the centrepiece of the design – redefines the harbour edge and creates numerous ‘jump-off’ points where visitors can interact with the water. These include concrete platforms, steps and terraces that provide opportunities for swimming, fishing and watercraft activities.

The jury applauded the design team for overcoming the challenging site geometry to create a new water’s edge, which is described as “neither contrived nor natural, but one as comfortable and familiar as rock pools and sandy beaches of childhood memories”.

Jack Evans Boat Harbour by ASPECT Studios. Image: ASPECT Studios.

In the jury citation, it said, “ASPECT Studios has created a transition between the dynamic environments where water and land co-exist. The sequence of relationships and activity zones sensitive to the inherent qualities of the existing landscape and the aspirations of the people of Tweed Heads enable recreation, play and enjoyment of the now refined shoreline of the highest standard of urban excellence.”

Additionally, the project won the Best Precinct in Australia award.

Glenorchy Art and Sculpture Park (GASP!) by Room 11 and McGregor Coxall. Image: Room 11.

Landscape architect McGregor Coxall took away the National Award in the Streets and Paths category for Lizard Log – a new regional parkland in western Sydney.

Melbourne’s refurbished Hamer Hall by ARM Architecture, with its distinctive new riverside facade, picked up the top prize in the Walls category.

Landscape architects Johnson Pilton Walker picked up the National Award in the Bridges category for the King’s Avenue Overpass in the ACT.

Prince Alfred Park Pool by Neeson Murcutt Architects. Image: Neeson Murcutt.

This year’s State Award winners were:

NSW – Prince Alfred Park Pool, Surry Hills (Neeson Murcutt Architects)

VIC – Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park (H2o architects)

QLD – Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, Winton (Cox Rayner Architects)

WA – Port Coogee redevelopment, Fremantle (HASSELL)

SA – Adelaide Airport Landside Infrastructure Project (Taylor Cullity Lethlean)

TAS – Glenorchy Art and Sculpture Park (GASP!) (Room 11 Architects and McGregor Coxall)

Port Coogee redevelopment, Fremantle by HASSELL. Image: HASSELL.