Registration for the 2017 Australian Urban Design Awards is now open, with entries closing on 28 July.
The awards are developed from the Australia Award for Urban Design, which was created by former prime minister Paul Keating’s Urban Task Force in 1996.
The program recognizes contemporary Australian urban design projects of the highest quality and aims to encourage cities, towns and communities across the country to strive for best practice in all projects. Entries are open to both built projects and design concepts and plans.
The winners of the 2016 awards ranged from small urban interventions to concepts for entire suburbs.
These included Sydney’s Goods Line, a transformation of a defunct railway line for use as a public park, by Aspect Studios, Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, CHROFI and Gartner Rose, which won the Australia Award for Urban Design in the small scale category.
At the other end of the scale, the Sydney Park Water Re-Use Project by Turf Design Studio and Environmental Partnership with Alluvium, Turpin and Crawford Studio and Dragonfly Environmental, which took home the Australia Award for Urban Design for a large-scale project.
The patrons of the Australian Urban Design Awards are Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia and Lucy Turnbull AO, Chief Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission and former Lord Mayor of Sydney.
In a message congratulating the 2016 finalists, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said, “These projects and designs will enhance our cities’ built environments for the people they must serve, and leave a lasting legacy for future generations.”
The Australian Urban Design Awards are organized by Architecture Media and convened by the Planning Institute of Australia with the support of the following organizations: Australian Institute of Architects, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, Green Building Council of Australia, Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, Consult Australia, Engineers Australia, and Urban Design Forum and the Government Architects Network Australia.
The jury for the awards will be made up of a representative from each of the supporting organizations.
The principal partner is Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia, with supporting partners PTA Landscapes, Holcim, Wood Solutions and Christie.
For more information on the Australian Urban Design Awards, including information on the entry process, go here.
