From rooftop gardens to restoring creeks, and Indigenous knowledge systems to parkland transformation, this year’s entries to the Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture (AILA) Victorian Awards program cover a broad range of subjects and issues.
Submissions for the annual AILA Victorian Awards, which were revealed recently at the Awards Submission Reveal Night, demonstrate how Melbourne and regional Victoria can be greener, more sustainable, inclusive and vibrant.
“This year the Victorian Chapter of AILA has again received a record number of submissions to the annual AILA Victorian awards. It’s very exciting to see the breadth of work occurring across Victoria by landscape architects who are leading the way in ensuring the liveability of this state through great public realm design,” says Adrian Gray, president, Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.
The 2019 program received 56 submissions across 13 categories – up from 43 in 2018 – with the entries focussing on public open space, stronger communities and greater environmental stewardship.
Jury chair, Mary Papaioannou says, "Landscape architects are busier than ever and our contribution is in the creation of places that people go to for their health and education, to conduct their daily business, and to enjoy the restorative aspects of landscape or the many forms of play. Based on the projects entered, landscape architects have also made contributions within community groups that would otherwise not have had access to design services, and have contributed to our collective knowledge bank through research. Landscape architects are also heavily involved in rail infrastructure projects in Victoria. We have created ‘better parks’ as well as ‘better streets’.”
Award winners will be announced at the Awards Presentation on Friday 14 June at MAIA, Docklands.
Themes within the award submissions include:
Turning rooftops into gardens at Parliament House by TCL
Project: Parliament of Victoria Annex’s Landscapes (Cultural Heritage category)
New ways of living together by Openwork
Project: Nightingale Village (Urban Design category)
Prioritising people and public transport over cars by ASPECT Studios
Project: Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal (Infrastructure category)
Giving voice to Indigenous knowledge systems in education by Deakin University
Project: Recasting Terra Nullius Blindness (Research Policy and Communications category)
Restoring degraded creeks into thriving, enduring landscapes by McGregor Coxall
Project: Moonee Ponds Creek Strategic Opportunities Plan (Landscape Planning category)
Prioritising nature for wellbeing by Spiire
Project: Goulburn Valley Palliative Care (Community Contribution category)
Transforming 27km of the Federation Trail into lineal parkland by Melbourne Water, Wyndham City Council, VicRoads and City West Water
Project: Greening the Pipeline (Land Management category)
