Landscape Architecture Australia
Queensland urban design awards
One award and two commendations have been given to projects in Queensland that “challenge the status quo [and] demonstrate leadership and design excellence.”
Presenting the winners of the 2019 Minister’s Award for Urban Design.
The renewal of the high street of Barcaldine, in rural Queensland, has won the top award at the 2019 Minister’s Award for Urban Design.
Fifteen nominations were received for the third iteration of the program, which recognizes contemporary Queensland urban design projects of the highest quality, with one project winning an award and two others receiving commendations.
Main Street Barcaldine by M3 Architecture and Brian Hooper Architect (architects in association) with Barcaldine Regional Council was named the sole award winner. The long-term redevelopment involved two major architectural projects – the Tree of Knowledge Memorial and The Globe Hotel.
“The Main Street of Barcaldine is an exemplar project,” said the jury in its citation. “This targeted investment in high-quality urban design values the distinctive qualities of place and has delivered an exceptional and revitalized main street in a small country town setting. The scheme has cleverly reinvigorated the main high street,
working with the existing built fabric of the town to create a successful tourist destination that reflects Barcaldine’s rich social, built and cultural history.
“Anchored by the Tree of Knowledge Memorial at one end and The Globe Hotel at the other, the utilization of these cultural and tourism attractions when combined with a narrowing and slowing of the highway successfully has created a high-quality experience for both locals and tourists.
“The relocation of car parking away from the Tree of Knowledge Memorial is a key strategic move that prioritizes pedestrians who can now engage more closely with the memorial and the town’s broader heritage setting. The success of the Main Street Barcaldine demonstrates the ability for urban design to underpin broader economic activity. Both the Tree of Knowledge Memorial and The Globe Hotel represent exceptional built form outcomes that are inspiring and visionary.
“Main Street Barcaldine is an excellent exemplar for regional towns across Queensland, looking to re-imagine their main streets through adaptive re-use of their historic buildings and high-quality urban design outcomes to create unique and enduring legacies for their communities and visitors.”
A team comprising Lat27 and Oxley Creek Transformation in association with DesignFlow, Hydrobiology, Jacobs and Deloitte won a commendation for the Oxley Creek Transformation Master Plan. The masterplan for the redevelopment of Oxley Creek would see the fifteen-kilometre waterway between Brisbane River and Larapinta reimagined as both a sanctuary for wildlife and an “urban playground.” The jury praised the plan for laying out an “innovative governance model that is likely to set a new benchmark in the revitalization, management and maintenance of urban waterways.”
The other commendation was awarded to the Gold Coast Building Height Study – An Approach to City Image and the Gold Coast Urban Ground Project, which together offer a set of documents to guide the future built form of the Gold Coast. The documents, by City of Gold Cost with Urbis, and City of Gold Coast with Archipelago, were cited by the jury as setting “a benchmark for other councils across Queensland experiencing rapid growth and urbanization.”