Four Arcadia projects have been honoured with six awards at this year’s Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) State Awards.
In New South Wales, The Championship Course Landscape Rehabilitation Project at Royal Sydney Golf Club received the AILA NSW Award of Excellence for Land Management. The jury described the project as having “set a new standard for ecological restoration, conservation and stewardship,” commending its creation of “a resilient and biodiverse open space which has helped to redefine the environmental role of urban golf courses.”
Also in NSW, the Queanbeyan Civic and Cultural Precinct received both an AILA NSW Landscape Architecture Award for Civic Landscape and an AILA NSW Regional Achievement Award. Delivered as the first collaboration between our Canberra studio, which opened in 2021, and our Sydney team, the project called for a multidisciplinary approach to navigate the pathway from concept to delivery. The jury described the project as transforming “an underutilised CBD site into a vibrant civic heart,” noting that it “reinforces Queanbeyan’s identity and provides an enduring catalyst for civic life and regional renewal.”
Nandi Reserve, a Parks for People project, rounded out the NSW wins, receiving an AILA NSW Landscape Architecture Award for Parks and Open Space. The jury praised the project’s “sensitive balance between conservation and community use,” noting that “restrained, low-impact interventions” have created “a welcoming place for recreation, learning and connection with nature” while protecting the site’s ecological and cultural values.
In Queensland, the Bundaberg Regional Aquatic Centre received both an AILA QLD Landscape Architecture Award for Civic Landscape and an AILA QLD Regional Achievement Award. The jury called it “an outstanding example of regional landscape architecture that confidently celebrates its civic function,” praising how its site narrative, drawn from the natural fusion of the site’s Moreton Bay fig trees, establishes “a distinctive and enduring regional identity” and “strengthens local civic pride.”
We’re proud of our team’s contribution to delivering these significant community assets, and congratulations to all the other winners and finalists across both awards programs.
