DESIGNED to provide a platform for the promotion of the skills and achievements of landscape architects across Victoria, the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) recently announced the winners of their 2019 Victorian Awards.
Amongst the award recipients were the Spiire team, who took home the ‘Landscape Architecture Award’ in two separate categories. The first, award, was for research, policy and communications for the Inclusive Cities Research Project, the second, for Community Contribution.
The team’s Community Contribution award was received in acknowledgement of their recently completed pro-bono project in Shepparton at GV Health Health, the addition of the site’s new Therapeutic Courtyard.
The design project was open to Spiire’s graduate program and all Spiire graduate landscape architects, across both metropolitan and regional offices. This allowed Spiire to provide their young and aspiring landscape architects with the opportunity to participate in all phases of project delivery and ultimately, offer the chance to add a meaningful project to their portfolio very early on in their career.
The GV Health Therapeutic Courtyard is the newest addition to the Palliative Care unit at the hospital. Its design encourages users to go outdoors and explore and engage with the natural world around them, providing both respite and distraction from their daily routine.
The awards are designed to demonstrate to industry, business, government and the wider community, the positive impact the landscape architecture profession can have on Australian lives through the planning, design and building of natural environments.
Award winners receive public and peer recognition of their work, and the competition format promotes new idea generation, alternative perspectives and unique design proposal.
