The Australian Urban Design Awards were unveiled in Canberra on Tuesday, honouring people and projects who have contributed to better cities and quality of life for communities across the nation.
In their 30th year, the awards are co-convened by peak design bodies, the Planning Institute of Australia, the Australian Institute of Architects and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.
The winners showcased the best of urban design projects and set new standards for intelligent urban design, the organisers said.
“They show how we can better shape our cities and produce better outcomes for communities, creating places that lift the human spirit, acknowledge the past, anticipate the future and enable a more sustainable existence.
“The winners underscore the fact that our cities are never finished. They are an enduring artefact, and every living city needs to anticipate future change.
“Cities must be capable of growth and renewal – and not just at the urban fringe. These projects anticipate ongoing urban change and look to the future. They intelligently predict future needs, which is extremely rare.”
This year, the awards attracted over 80 entries over four newly established categories: Built Outcomes, Research and Advocacy, Strategic Design, Policy and Urban Design Champion.
The awards steering committee chair, Katherine Sundermann, said this year’s winners had a “gentler approach to urban transformation”, featuring projects “rooted in Indigenous and community leadership, ecological landscapes, and the creation of places for people to gather.”
Sundermann said cities and winning projects have been influenced by planning reform, housing supply and major transport.
“These projects reinforce a simple idea: urban transformation works best when it involves diverse people, responds to the specifics of place, and improves places over time.”
Notable winner
Amongst the winners were Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects’ Campbelltown Station Commuter Car Park – which was designed to easily be adaptively transformed into apartments, offices, or a cultural centre.
The car park’s access ramps in the central courtyard can be removed, and the green space in front can be configured. Meanwhile, the courtyard currently brings landscape, light and air into the 500 space commuters car park, which also offers EV charging through its rooftop solar as well as bicycle and motorbike parking.
According to the architects, the building’s strong architectural presence will attract future urban developments to the precinct, and the generous floor-to-floor height will allow retailers, cafes and activations to be able to “plug in” along the street frontage.
The use of post-tensioned slabs and band beams reduce the concrete usage of the build by 17 per cent. And the landscape also utilises water sensitive urban design with passive irrigation, raingardens and water filtration species.
Founder and architect Phil Thalis will be speaking about the building code and rating tools at The Fifth Estate’s Codes Red on 31 March.
More winners include:
Built outcomes winners
- Balam Balam Place by Kennedy Nolan, Open Work, Finding Infinity (VIC)
- Campbelltown Multi Storey Mobility Hub by Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects (NSW)
- St Kilda Pier Redevelopment by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects with Site Office Landscape Architecture and AW Maritime (VIC)
Research and advocacy
- Safer Cities program by Transport for NSW
- The Grassening by ‘The Grassening’ Team
- ULI Australia + Department of Transport and Planning (Victoria) Net Zero Imperative: Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) – Street Trees as Essential Infrastructure by The Urban Land Institute (ULI) Australia and the Department of Transport & Planning (Victoria)
Strategic design and policy winners
- Doomadgee Future Planning Project by Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council, Circ Design, Meridian Urban
- From Policy to Place: Vincent’s Co-Funded Framework for Town Centre Transformation by the City of Vincent and the local businesses of Vincent
- NSW Housing Pattern Book by Government Architect NSW with the NSW DPHI Strategic Planning and Policy Team
Urban design champions
- Michael Rayner
- Rob McGauran
- Shelley Penn AM
View the project images here
If there was an award for the worst development the judges would be overwhelmed.