Above: JunctionPlace by ASPECT Studio, photo by Matt Fleet & Trevor Ierino.

The winners of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) 2016 Victorian Landscape Architecture Awards were announced yesterday, at a ceremony in Melbourne.

The awards were granted to projects that promote quality of design and shape our cities and neighbourhoods by realising the health, social and economic benefits of green spaces. Thirteen awards were presented across 10 categories.

Fresh off their win at the AILA NSW Landscape Architecture Awards, ASPECT Studios took home three prizes, including the Civic Landscape Award of Excellence for Junction Place, the Civic Landscape Landscape Architecture Award for Windsor Plaza, and the Infrastructure Award of Excellence for the Victorian Desalination Plant and Ecological Reserve.

Victorian Desalination Plant and Ecological Reserve, photo by John Gollings.

The Civic Landscape Landscape Architecture Award was won by Taylor Cullity Lethlean for its project, the RMIT Bundoora Pedestrian Spine. TCL also won the Urban Design Award of Excellence for the Monash University ‘Caulfield Campus Green’.

The RMIT Bundoora Pedestrian Spine by Taylor Cullity Lethlean, photo by John Gollings.

The McCulloch Avenue Boardwalk by Site Office won the Parks and Open Spaces Award of Excellence, while Rush Wright Associates took out the Cultural Heritage Award of Excellence for the Completion of the Courtyards at the Shrine of Remembrance.

Completion of the Courtyards at the Shrine of Remembrance by Rush Wright, photo by Michael Wright.

The second Cultural Heritage award, the Landscape Architecture Award, was won by Fitzgerald Frisby Landscape Architecture for their work on the Rosalind Park Recreation Reserve Precinct Master Plan & Management Framework. Meanwhile, Tract Consultants Pty Ltd won the Tourism Award of Excellence for the Penguin Plus viewing area at Phillip Island.

Penguin Plus viewing area at Phillip Island by Tract Consultants Pty Ltd, photo courtesy Penguin Plus.

There were three winners under the Research, Policy and Communication category: Jillian Walliss and Heike Rahmann, who won the Research, Policy and Communication Award of Excellence award for the Landscape Architecture and Digital Technologies: Re-conceptualising Design and Making; OUTR Research Lab, RMIT University, who won the Research, Policy and Communication Landscape Architecture Award for Nature’s Cathedral; and Brimbank City Council, who won the Research, Policy and Communication Landscape Architecture Award for Greening The West: A Brimbank Perspective Greening the West works to create sustainable and liveable suburbs through urban greening, with the strategic planting of 1 million trees across the western suburbs.

Nature’s Cathedral by OUTR Research Lab, RMIT University.

The final award of the night, the Communities Award of Excellence, was also won by OUTR Research Lab, RMIT University, for their Get Sunflowered project. The community engagement project is situated in the Latrobe Valley, and aims to empower local communities to transform under-loved, unused spaces into designed fields of bright sunflowers, in order to foster social cohesion while inspiring the community to positively transform their own city.

Get Sunflowered (Moe) by OUTR Research Lab, RMIT University.

The 2016 President’s Award was given to Indigenous Architecture and Design Victoria for their “considerable contribution to improving understanding across the built environment professions about the importance of indigenous cultural heritage in design practice, and supporting AILA Victoria in its commitment to developing and delivering a Connection to Country strategy for its membership.”

This year’s awards “illustrate the critical role of landscape planning, architecture and design as catalysts for creating a sense of place, and for energising local economies,” the jury said. “It was uplifting to see the exceptional entrants and excellence in landscape architecture across a wide range of project typologies within Victoria.”

“Victorians should be so proud of these projects that exemplify the importance of innovative, well-planned spaces that allow for the outdoor lifestyle we all enjoy. With over 60% of Australia’s population now living in the major capitals, planning has never been more vital,” commented Felicity McGahan, VIC Chapter Manager, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.