Perth’s Forrest Place (with design by Woodhead) has won top honours in this year’s Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) Awards despite stiff competition from Place Design Group’s Surfers Paradise Foreshore redevelopment.
Also in WA, Cockburn Central (LandCorp, Cardno, Urbis) and Greens Senator Scott Ludlam took major honours in this year’s Awards for Planning Excellence, which recognise innovation and excellence in Australia’s urban landscape.
The redevelopment of Perth’s Forrest Place (City of Perth, Woodhead, PlanE, BG&E Hutchinsons Associates) won Australia’s Great Place Award.
The PIA cited Forrest place as a well-designed and high quality public space. It won the award for the way in which it creates an intimate relationship with its surrounding environment and achieves a significant level of interaction with the Perth community.
Forrest Place. Image: Woodhead
“The redevelopment is an example of a well-designed, high quality public space that creates an intimate relationship with its surrounding context and achieves a significant level of interaction with the community that uses it,” said the judges.
The Forrest Place development includes a new permanent stage area to host events in the heart of the CBD, improved pedestrian access with a gentle slope and fewer steps, a more spacious and less cluttered public space as well as a unique interactive water sculpture – ‘Labyrinth Fountain’.
Cockburn Central. Image: Landcorp
WA Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, the party’s spokesperson for sustainable cities and infrastructure, and continued the success for WA by winning the Planning Champion Award for his work on urban infill development in the state. He was praised for his collaboration with the Property Council on one of the Perth’s more controversial issues whom together are calling for urban infill development in seven key transport corridors including Charles Street, Fitzgerald Street, Scarborough Beach Road and Stirling Highway.
Cockburn Central represented Perth’s wider suburbs in the awards and took out the From Plan to Place Award. The Institute explained that Cockburn Central strategically takes advantage of and is integrated with major public transport facilities, offering the convenience of contemporary living mixed with sustainable development.
“It is really exciting to see so many of Western Australia’s well-planned public spaces being recognised on a national level,” said Planning Institute of Australia WA division executive officer Emma de Jager.
“We have so many superb urban planners in Perth who are continually improving the liveability and long-term sustainability of our quickly expanding city. It’s fantastic to see their work being acknowledged Australia-wide.”
The Annual PIA Awards for Planning Excellence start at State level with winners from each state going on to be judged at a National Level.
Forrest Place. Image: Woodhead
Category Winners
Category: Improving Planning Processes and Practices Award
Project Team: Department of State Development Infrastructure and Planning, Regional Services Group, and Planning and Property Group
Winner: State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) QLD
Commendation: Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Development Assessment Toolkit NSW
Commendation: BAL Plan iPad Application Victoria
Category: Public Engagement and Community Planning Award
Project Team: Transport for NSW (North West Rail Link)
Winner: North West Rail – Stakeholder and Community Engagement NSW
Commendation: Kerb Ramp & Footpath Community Consultation SA
Category: Promotion of Planning Award
Project Team: Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development
Winner: The State of Australian Cities Reports (2010 – 2013) ACT
Commendation: Ideas Fiesta QLD
Commendation: Stephen Yarwood – Lord Mayor of Adelaide SA
Category: The Great Place Award
Project Team: City of Perth, Woodhead, PlanE, BG&E Hutchinsons Associates
Winner: Redevelopment of Forest Place WA
Commendation: Surfers Paradise Foreshore Redevelopment QLD
Category: Outstanding Student Project
Project Team: Jessica Crane, Christina Hill, Michelle Squires, Hayden Gianarakis, Brylee English, Genevieve Denny – The University of Queensland
Winner: Browns Plains Centre Strategic Plan 2033 QLD
Category: Planner of the Year
Winner: Alexander Rix SA
Category: Outstanding Achievement by a Young Planner
Winner: Tim Sneesby NSW
Commendation: Brittany Lauga QLD
Category: Planning Champion Award
Winner: Senator Scott Ludlam WA
Category: Cutting Edge Research and Teaching Award
Project Team: University of Canberra (Canberra Urban and Regional Futures), ANU and University of Wollongong
Winner: South East Coastal Adaptation (SECA) – Coastal Urban Futures in South East Australia ACT
Category: From Plan to Place Award
Project Team: LandCorp, Cardno, Urbis
Winner: Cockburn Central WA
Category: Hard Won Victory Award
Project Team: Brisbane Housing Company (BHC) Buckley Vann Town Planning Consultants
Winner: Blackwood Street Affordable Housing QLD
Category: Best Planning Ideas Award – Small
Project Team: Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council, Buckley Vann Town Planning Consultants, AECOM, Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural Affairs
Winner: Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council Planning Scheme QLD
Commendation: Dee Why Town Centre Master Plan NSW
Category: Best Planning Ideas Award - Large
Project Team: NSW Planning and Infrastructure, City of Newcastle Council
Winner: Newcastle Urban Renewal Strategy NSW
Commendation: Rural Planning Project – Planning for Healthy Agriculture QLD -VIC
Commendation: South West Victoria Landscape Assessment Study - Planisphere, Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure (DTPLI) – VIC
Category: Hall of Fame Award
Winner: Associate Professor Phil Heywood QLD