THE WINNERS of Australia’s urban design awards, promoting sustainable city and building designs, were announced in Canberra last week.
The City of Sydney earned a commendation for its project, Sustainable Sydney 2030 — The Vision, which provides an urban design framework for major projects in the city centre and in the villages of Sydney.
Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects, designers of Paddington Reservoir Gardens, bagged the prestigious award for urban design excellence.
Constructed on a prominent site in the heart of Oxford, the Paddington water storage reservoir was covered by a raised grassed park in the 1930s, which hid the site from view.
Instead of capping the site and building a new park above, the design team incorporated the reinforced ruins of the heritage listed structure and created sunken and elevated gardens using contemporary materials.
The City of Melbourne and Victorian Department of Transport also left with an award for its research project, Transforming Australian Cities.
The research presented a well-researched argument for strategic residential and employment intensification along public transport corridors.
The winners were announced at the Hyatt Hotel, Canberra on 11 August 2009 by minister for the environment, heritage and the arts, Peter Garrett.
The award is hosted by the Planning Institute of Australia with support from the Australian Institute of Architects, the Urban Design Forum, the Property Council of Australia, the Green Building Council of Australia and Association of Consulting Engineers Australia.
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