Major NZ landscape architects awards

January 11, 2006

Record entries for major NZ landscape architects awards

More than 50 entries have been received for the 2006 Pride of Place New Zealand landscape architect awards to be held in Wellington in March.

This is the highest number of entries in the history of the two-yearly New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects National awards event.

A gala awards dinner will be held at Te Papa in Wellington on March 13 to pay tribute to the country’s best landscape architects and their projects.

Gold, silver, and bronze awards will be presented at this event to winning entries along with possible supreme awards for especially outstanding projects.

Entries have been received from all over New Zealand (including New Plymouth, Auckland, Queenstown, Wellington and the Central North Island) and cover a range of sites from stunning residential gardens to high profile public open spaces and urban design projects.

The supreme awards in the 2004 Pride of Place Landscape Awards went to two Wellington projects - Oriental Bay (Isthmus Group Ltd) and Taranaki Wharf (Wraight and Associates Ltd).

Last year a number of high-profile and large-scale public landscape architecture projects were completed including the final stage of the New Plymouth foreshore development, Manukau Square upgrade, Paraparaumu public library, Whitireia polytechnic library learning centre and the potters children's garden at the Auckland Botanic Gardens. These and other major projects are among the entries in the 2006 awards and will be visited by the panel of judges later this month.

A selection of three winners from the 2006 Pride of Place Landscape Awards will be submitted to the International Federations of Landscape Architects Awards, which recognises excellence in landscape architecture from IFLA member countries.

Meanwhile, a joint New Zealand and Australian conference in Sydney in May will host landscape architects from throughout the world and will raise awareness of the key issues facing landscape architects today.

The challenge of the conference title - TIME - lies in how landscape architects embed lasting value in their work for the future, based on a sincere understanding of how the past creates the social and cultural framework within which landscape architects work.

New Zealand, in particular, is facing a phase of significant change with increasing population and infrastructure growth, NZILA’s president Renee Lambert said today.

``Our cities and towns are changing and growing and so are our rural landscapes. There is pressure on our outstanding landscapes and conservation estate (as highlighted through the high country tenure issues).

``We need to ensure that we stay abreast of these issues and provide leadership in encouraging responses to be developed that are sustainable and appropriate.

``How we as a profession in NZ manage and embrace the inevitable issue of change within our varied environments to ensure the best possible outcomes is a core issue.’’

Previous winners include such key public landscapes as the Arrowtown town centre development, Quay Park, on Auckland's waterfront, indigenous ecosystems handbooks for Christchurch, Papakura gateway reserve, the Wellington Botanic Gardens duck pond, Onehunga’s town centre, the Haast Visitors Centre, and the New Plymouth foreshore walkway and development.

ENDS

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