- 8 Awards of Excellence and 12 Landscape Architecture award winners for 2021
- Famous landmarks like Kalbarri Skywalk and WA Museum featured
- East end of Hay Street also won awards
The annual Landscape Architecture Awards for Western Australia were recently held by the Australian Insitute of Landscape Architects (AILA).
Across fifteen categories, this year, there were eight Award of Excellence winners and twelve Landscape Architecture Awards winners.
Only one award of excellence can be made per category, and even then, there will not always be a winner. The next tier of awards can be made to more than one in any category.
Kalbarri Skywalk
The project is also known by the Aboriginal name Kaju Yatka, the Nanda words for ‘sky’ and ‘to walk.’
Opened on 12 June 2020, the skywalk was a major part of the $24 million project that included upgrades to Meanarra Hill and Z Bend.
Kaju Yatka was awarded three different awards: the 2021 AILA WA Award of Excellence for Tourism, 2021 AILA WA Medal, and 2021 AILA WA Award for Regional Achievement.
“The careful siting and integration of the facility and thoughtful use of recycled materials, colours and textures creates a strong connection between the new infrastructure and surrounding site.”
Part of the award citation
Then environment minister, Stephen Dawson, said at the opening that:
“The Kalbarri Skywalk is projected to inject up to $73 million in additional expenditure over the next decade into the local economy…”
Stephen Dawson, former Environment Minister
Hay Street Pedestrian Priority Precinct
Awarded for excellence in infrastructure, the project saw the East Perth portion of Hay Street turned into a “high-quality public space in a technically and culturally challenging site”
The redevelopment saw part of Hay Street become ” a multi-functional space that caters for a diverse audience, promotes economic activity, liveability, accessibility and safety in the east end of the city.”
The Ritz Carlton and The Towers Elizabeth Quay
It “was about as big as a brief can get,” said the award citation, the project was awarded the WA Award of Excellence for Gardens.
The premium name and surroundings of Ritz Carlton was not the only demanding factor, the brief included “[showcasing] the wondrous and varied indigenous landscapes of Western Australia and meet the technical challenges of building on structure.”
“The key challenges of wind and weight loadings were carefully studied and managed to avoid impacting on the landscape design and hotel and resident amenity areas.”
Part of the award citation
WA Museum Boola Bardip
The now multi-award winning WA Museum redevelopment has won yet another award.
Creating a space and place for everyone, the citation said:
“The design elegantly resolves a technically challenging site and carefully knits together the existing and new built form, creating a sequence of spaces that provide a rich visitor experience. The landscape acts as both a canvas, recording our local histories, and a stage for writing new histories.”
Part of the award citation
Furthermore, “The jury was particularly impressed by the in-depth stakeholder engagement and design process,”.
AILA also noted in the award citation that the outcomes were consistent with the indigenous name of the museum ‘Boola Bardip’, meaning many stories; the landscape is conceived as a ‘collection of stories’ about Western Australia’s rich history and culture.
WA Museum Boola Bardip was awarded the WA Award of Excellence for Civic Landscape.
Awards of Excellence
- Parks and Open Space: Bina Parkland
- Infrastructure: East End Revitalisation – Hay Steet Pedestrian Priority Precinct
- Health and Education Landscape: International School of WA Playground Enhancement
- Tourism: Kaju Yatka (Kalbarri Skywalk)
- Cultural Heritage: Ngajarli
- Research, Policy and Communications: Place Value Ashfield
- Gardens: The Ritz-Carlton and The Tower Elizabeth Quay
- Civic Landscape: WA Museum Boola Bardip
Landscape Architecture Award
- Gardens:
- 3BC
- Coogee Common
- Health and Education Landscape:
- Bilya Marlee
- Swancare Leisure Precinct Landscape
- Research, Policy and Communications: City of Perth Urban Forest Soil Specification and Tree Details
- Urban Design: East End Revitalisation – Hay Steet Pedestrian Priority Precinct
- Community Contribution:
- Inglenooks
- Mission Australia DAYS Courtyard
- Land Management: Lalang-garram Marine Park Visitor Plan
- Parks and Open Space: Lathlain Precinct Community Parkland
- Small Projects: Shifting Sands
- Cultural Heritage: WA Museum Boola Bardip
