2023 SA State Landscape Architecture Awards Celebrate Projects Creating Resilient Communities

The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) has revealed the winners of the 2023 SA State Awards. The jury celebrated 28 winners for their ability to prepare for and respond to climate change.

AILA SA Jury Chair Carina Green says landscape architects are vital to the sustainability of our cities and regions.

“The ever-increasing pace of change brings uncertainty about the future,” Carina says.

“This year, many projects tackled the imperative for greening and habitat creation, ensuring biodiversity and cooling measures are prevalent while increasing and retaining tree canopy across the state.

“Through meaningful collaboration and strategic thinking, landscape architects can help communities adapt and plan for change, and even thrive. Understanding the drivers of change, and preparing for them, will create resilient communities.”

AILA SA President Daniel Bennett says “The simple outcomes to grow and better shape our city’s green spaces masks an increasingly complex approach that landscape architects do with remarkable efficiency, tactility and meaning.

“Whilst many talk about the impacts of a changing climate, connecting with Country, understanding our city’s character and building better places, landscape architects are getting on with it….and the awards are living evidence of it.”

Winning public spaces feature strongly as better places for people Kensington Wama/Kensington Gardens Reserve took out multiple awards, including the top Award of Excellence in the Parks and Open Space category, as well as the Water for Life Award and a Healthy Parks Healthy People Award. Designed by ASPECT Studios, Southfront and The City of Burnside, the project has delivered significant recreational and environmental benefits to The City of Burnside’s premier reserve. The project transforms an artificial lake into a naturalised constructed wetland that improves water quality and increases biodiversity. An extensive revegetation program included over 10,000 new Indigenous plantings to complement the remnant SA Blue Gums within the reserve. A diverse range of new and upgraded recreational facilities have been delivered, including nature play, Kaurna artwork, outdoor fitness stations, a running circuit, eight reconfigured tournament-standard tennis courts and new structures including bridges, viewing decks and a wetland boardwalk.

The jury says “The project has transformed an unsightly and odorous flood mitigation basin into an idyllic wetland environment, outdoor classroom and inviting meeting place that celebrates the value and importance of water. A destination and a local park, the project has made new and meaningful spaces for all parts of the community, integrating water-sensitive urban design and a new wetland, new play spaces, and sensitively designed public art celebrating the traditional custodians of the lands of the park.”

The Granite Island Causeway took out an Award of Excellence for Cultural Heritage and a Regional Achievement Award. The Granite Island Causeway is an important piece of South Australian history. It’s a site of cultural significance to Ngarrindjeri Ramindjeri Peoples and also a popular tourist attraction for all. Designed by Tract in collaboration with Cox, the project involved the design and construction of a new causeway structure between Granite Island and Victor Harbour, including horse-drawn tram provisions, viewing facilities, new boat landing facility, existing Causeway refurbishment and foreshore urban design improvements.

The jury says the project is “An outstanding example of meaningful, genuine engagement of First Nations. Celebrating the Cultural Heritage of the Ngarrindjeri and Ramindjeri peoples, it brings to life their dreaming stories, and reveals the natural history of the site. It bridges the divide between the past and present. An ever-popular tourist destination, in its historic coastal setting, this is a once in a lifetime project that seamlessly integrates the history and honours the memories of the precinct, leaving an enduring mark for future generations.”

The South Parklands Wetland by T.C.L won the Award of Excellence in the Land Management category as well as a Healthy Parks Healthy People SA Award. The project detains and treats flows from Brownhill Creek as part of an overarching flood mitigation strategy of the broader Brown Hill Keswick Creek Stormwater Project across five different council areas. The wetland enhances water quality and the ecological value of the site, whilst improving amenity and recreational benefits for users of the Adelaide Park Lands.

The project includes a series of walking trails and shared paths over 2km, a large amphitheatre and mounded lawns, 200m Gabion Walling, several viewing decks and boardwalks, and Kaurna cultural interpretation carefully sited amongst the existing remnant trees and sensitive ecosystems.

The jury says “The South Parklands Wetland demonstrates expert planning, engineering and design, transforming over 3 hectares of a previously underutilised and degraded part of Adelaide’s nationally significant Park Lands. With a sensitivity toward environmental protection, balancing recreational and water management objectives, and with an authentic representation of First Nations people throughout the project, T.C.L and their design team has delivered a project which is an exemplar for green infrastructure, and the enhancement of natural ecosystems in the city.”

The Thorndon Park Playground, designed by JPE Design Studio, has won the top Award of Excellence in the Play Spaces category and a ShadeSmart Award. This one-of-a-kind playspace offers a varied range of play opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. It is inspired by the diverse and plentiful bird life that Thorndon Park is known for. Focusing on creative play, inclusivity and story-telling, this playspace is underpinned by the Reggio Emilia principles, creating a multitude of play environments that foster interaction, autonomy, exploration, curiosity, and communication; framed as places for both children and adults to explore together.

The jury says the “Thorndon Park Playground provides the City of Campbelltown with an iconic all-ages destination play space. The playground stays true to its goal of creating ‘something for everyone’ whilst delivering an engaging and iconic playscape for the Adelaide suburbs.”

All winners at the State Awards level proceed to the National Landscape Architecture Awards held later this year.

AILA is the peak body for Landscape Architecture in Australia, championing quality design for public open spaces, stronger communities, and greater environmental stewardship.

More information: aila.org.au