2019 WLA Awards winners announced

The 2019 WLA Awards attracted over 175 entrants with a diverse range of submissions from across the world. With the quality of the entries increasing each year it was hard for the jury to score the shortlist as many of the entries were of the equivalent level of high-quality design and resolution. Often categories were decided by a point or two difference between the top shortlisted entries.

World Landscape Architecture is excited to announce the winners for the 2019 WLA Awards:

Built – Large

Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park 

Award of Excellence
Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park 
Bangkok Thailand
Landprocess

Chulalongkorn Centenary Park is the first critical piece of green infrastructure for the city of Bangkok, designed to mitigate detrimental ecological issues and add much-needed outdoor public space to the grey city. The Chulalongkorn Centenary Park is designed to face future uncertainties of climate change. Bangkok is a climate-vulnerable city with little green space, and this park, which contains the largest green roof in Thailand, is an invaluable addition to the ecological landscape.

Darling Harbour Public Realm | Image Credit – Simon Wood

Merit Award
Darling Harbour Public Realm
Sydney, Australia
HASSELL

The transformation of Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia, is the city’s most significant urban renewal initiative in 20 years – a once in a generation opportunity to remake a critical, central neighbourhood.
Working closely with iNSW and Lendlease, HASSELL delivered the urban design framework for the entire 20-hectare precinct and designed Darling Harbour’s public realm to better connect the city and offer new places for people to gather, relax and play.

Built – Small

Into the Forest 

Award of Excellence
Into the Forest 
Mantova, Italy
Openfabric

The installation confronts the phenomena of climate tropicalisation and its catastrophic effects on the environment, by recreating a portion of post-apocalyptic landscape (using leftovers trunks of paper production-chain). Climate change is real, action is urgent.

Light Sculpture Plaza

Merit Award
Light Sculpture Plaza
Modi’in, Israel
Shlomo Aronson Architects

The sculpture serves to anchor the southern end of the new city center and pedestrian promenade in Modi’in, Israel,  an ongoing project currently under construction.

Built – Residential

Ink, Residential Cultural Display Pavilion

Award of Excellence
Ink, Residential Cultural Display Pavilion
Xiamen, P.R. China
GVL (Gossamer)

Godrej Platinum

Merit Award
Godrej Platinum
Kolkata, India
One Landscape

The design brief for Godrej Platinum Development is to create a community of spacious dwellings located in an exemplary landscaped environment with spectacular existing trees. With numerous features, facilities and amenities it is designed to make city living a memorable, safe and timeless experience.

Conceptual

Award of Excellence
11th Street Bridge Park
Washington, DC, USA
OLIN + OMA

The design for 11th Street Bridge Park features is a model for sustainable design. The Park is envisioned as a richly-layered landscape with new meadow and tree plantings that provide critical shade, habitat, stormwater capture, and seasonal interest that is currently absent in Anacostia Park.

Island Moutere 

Merit Award
Island Motutere 
New Zealand
LAND Lab

A design-led research and experimental project that explores how the ideas of tactical urbanism, place-making and strategic activation can be applied to and rejuvenate an urban waterfront precinct.

Student

Waters In Peril Collective Measures For A Dying Lake Winnipeg

Award of Excellence
Waters In Peril Collective Measures For A Dying Lake Winnipeg
Jaysen Ariola
University of Toronto

A framework is created to examine how we can implement new rules and landscape policy for waterway adjacencies and landowners to address the issue of nutrient runoff into the River, which eventually drains into Lake Winnipeg. It outlines components such as stakeholders, economy and strategies.  The framework would address and convey what it means to protect and restore ecosystems to various groups and people.

The Drainage Filter for the Everglades 

Merit Award
The Drainage Filter for the Everglades 
Meikang Li, Qiwei Song, Chaoyi Cui
University of Toronto

The Drainage Filter re-channels the water runoff by utilizing public-owned properties and the water will be stored and treated before arriving at its destination, the Everglades. The project proposes a phased, cost-efficient alternative and improvement to existing expensive treatment infrastructures in the Everglades.

Editor’s Award

Park of Boulogne Billancourt 

Park of Boulogne Billancourt 
Paris, France
Agence Ter

The renaturing of the site of the Billancourt Park, with its industrial past, is based on the nature/town duality of the Seine and the City. The site used to be a major industrial site in the Paris region: the Renault car manufacturing grounds. Both the area on the bank of Boulogne-Billancourt, as well as the Ile Seguin situated in the Seine River were liberated due to a move of the industry and therefore became possible locations for new large-scale urban development projects on a stone’s throw from the historic centre of Paris.

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all entrants and we look forward to next years WLA Awards.

About Damian Holmes 3245 Articles
Damian Holmes is the Founder and Editor of World Landscape Architecture (WLA). He is a registered landscape architect (AILA) working in international design practice in Australia. Damian founded WLA in 2007 to provide a website for landscape architects written by landscape architects. Connect on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianholmes/