Pictured: Gumnut Garden by Dan Schulz
If you’ve taken the time to explore and stroll along the River Torrens lately or discovered a beautiful native garden hidden behind a picket fence, chances are you’ve already witnessed some of the incredible work of South Australia’s most talented landscape architects. Now, they’re being celebrated in style at the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) South Australia Awards.
Yesterday, the awards took over Sanctuary at Adelaide Zoo, bringing together the best of the best talent in the field.
AILA SA Jury Chair Warwick Keates led this year’s panel of jurors, and shared, “What emerges clearly from this year’s awards is a profession that is a champion of the environment, people, culture and place. We continue to demonstrate that landscape architects are respectful, inclusive and incredibly innovative.”
More than 20 standout projects competed across categories from parks and open spaces to health, education and residential gardens.
Breakout Creek / Purruna Pari Stage 3, came away as the big winner for their massive blue-green infrastructure project that has reimagined more than 1.6km of the River Torrens corridor. Designed by TCL in partnership with Green Adelaide, City of Charles Sturt, and City of West Torrens, this space picked up two Awards of Excellence for Land Management and Parks & Open Space, plus a Climate Positive Design Award and a Water for Life Commendation.
The project includes new wetlands and shared trails to an accessible boardwalk and viewing decks. The project marks the final chapter of a 30-year vision to connect the river’s freshwater and saltwater systems.
The Jury praised the project, describing it as “an exemplary demonstration of landscape architectural leadership in the design and delivery of complex blue/green infrastructure.”
The Gumnut Garden by Oxigen won the Garden Award of Excellence and the Water for Life Award. This residential garden uses local flora to boost biodiversity while also creating outdoor rooms that blend seamlessly with the home’s interior.
The Jury called it, “Unusually brave within both front and rear yards, the garden showcases an array of local and nearby native plant species that support biodiversity. Additionally, it provides habitat whilst simultaneously creating a series of spaces for the occupants, and views from within indoor spaces.”
The Dunstan Adventure Playground in St Peters took home the Play Spaces’ Landscape Architecture Award. Designed by the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters and CLOVER Green Space, the Jury said the nostalgic design encourages children and parents to be brave, just as it did in the seventies.
Winners from the South Australian awards will now progress to the National AILA Awards, which will be held in Hobart/Nipaluna this October.
For more information and to check out the rest of the winners, click here.
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