News

Outstanding landscape architecture schemes recognised at awards ceremony

29th November 2007

The buoyant state of the landscape architecture profession was today showcased at the Landscape Institute Awards.

Channel Four broadcaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy hosted the event, which took place at the Brewery in London, recognising the profession’s most innovative and successful schemes.

The Gold Route in Sheffield was acknowledged as the top landscape architecture scheme in the country. The development, which is a linked series of public spaces from Sheffield railway station to the heart of the city centre, received the President’s Award as the industry’s top scheme, chosen by Landscape Institute President Nigel Thorne. It also won the Local Landscape Planning Award.
The award marked a day of success for Sheffield with Sheaf Square and Howard Street, completed in December 2006, also winning the Design in one to five hectares category.

Milton Keynes received the Peter Youngman Award for its innovation and success and for its outstanding contribution to landscape in its forty year existence.

The awards comprised a total of 14 categories, including design, planning and research with 40 schemes either recognised as the winner, highly commended or commended. Winning schemes were as geographically diverse as the Dongtan Eco City in China and the Westergasfabriek Park in Amsterdam.

President of the Landscape Institute Nigel Thorne said: “These awards illustrate that landscape architecture is currently on the crest of a wave. This has been the best ever year in terms of the quality of the awards. It reflects the fact that we are the profession best able to meet the early 21st century challenges and to create places where people want to live and work both now and in the future.

“The Landscape Institute is delighted to showcase these awards as the very best in our profession – the environment and design profession for the 21st century.

Our two major awards reflect both the glorious past and bright future of landscape architecture. The Gold Route has quite literally transformed the public gateway to the city of Sheffield and shows that the influence landscape architects can have over their local landscapes and environment can be life changing.

I am equally delighted to present this year’s Peter Youngman Award to Milton Keynes – the most ambitious and successful new town landscape. Peter Youngman, whose name this award honours, acted as a consultant on the masterplan and his modernist design has become today’s dynamically sophisticated and modulated landscape.”

The awards are presented to encourage and recognise outstanding examples of work by the landscape profession and aim to bring greater awareness of the best contributions from Landscape Institute members in creating an improved environment.

They promote the art and science of landscape architecture, advance the knowledge and understanding of the discipline and celebrate professional expertise.

In 2007, three new categories were added – Heritage and Conservation, Landscape Sciences and Urban Design.

List of winners

Special Awards
President’s Award - The Gold Route, Sheffield
Peter Youngman Award - Milton Keynes

Category Awards

Heritage and Conservation
Winner
Barrow Park, Barrow /LDA Design

Highly commended
Historic Squares, London/Land Use Consultants
Trentham Gardens, Trentham /Land Use Consultants

Commended
Polesworth Abbey, Warwickshire/Waterman CPM

Urban Design
Winner
Dongtan eco-city, Shanghai/ARUP

Highly commended
Old Market Square, Nottingham/Gustafson Porter

Commended
Tower Hill, Knowsley/Maxim Urban Design

Research
Winner
Survey of Heritage Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Ireland/Richards, Moorehead & Laing Ltd.

Commended
The Sun King’s Garden/Ian Thompson

Landscape Sciences
Winner
Sefton Coast and Ribble Estuary NVC Project, Lancashire/TEP

Management
Winner
Risk Management Strategy for Tree Resource/TEP

Design 1-5ha
Winner
Sheaf Square/Howard Street, Sheffield/Sheffield City Council

Commended
Lightwood Reservoir, Derbyshire/Severn Trent Water
Lamberhurst Land Bridge, Royal Tunbridge Wells/Land Use Consultants
Salcey Forest Treetop Walkway, Northamptonshire/River Nene National Park
Coultry Park (Phase 1), Ballymun, Dublin/Rummey Design

Strategic Landscape Planning
Winner
Northamptonshire Environmental Character Suite, Northamptonshire/LDA Design

Highly commended
Forest Landscape South Wales/Forestry Commission Wales

Commended
Lsp sensitivity study, Hampshire/Hampshire County Council
Lsp Character Assessment Hinckley, Leicestershire/FPCR

Local Landscape Planning
Winner
The Gold Route, Sheffield/Sheffield City Council

Highly commended
Radstock Regeneration, Somerset/LDA Design

Design over 5ha
Winner Westergasfabriek Park, Amsterdam/Gustafson Porter

Highly commended
Dolwyddelan to Pont-yr-Afanc Improvement, White Young Green

Design under 1ha
Winner
Centenary Community Garden, Manchester/ Groundwork Manchester, Salford and Trafford

Highly commended
Edward Square, Kings Cross, London/J&L Gibbons LLP
Sunniside Garden, Sunderland/Robinson Landscape Design Ltd

Commended
Old Basing Infant School, Basingstoke/Hampshire County Council
HM Treasury Courtyard, London/Gustafson Porter
Promenade Landscape Scheme, North Norfolk/Mott McDonald

Landscape Policy
Winner
Forest of Dean District, LDA Design

Commended
Effect of Road Schemes on Historic Landscape, Highways Agency
Northamptonshire’s Green Infrastructure Study, Northamptonshire/River Nene Regional Park

Communications and Presentation
Winner
Groundwork Playscape, London/Groundwork West London

Commended
Stevenage Town Centre Gardens, Stevenage/HTA Architects

Student Categories
Winner
Ella Rose Magwood/Leeds Metropolitan University

Commended
Sam Thomas/Edinburgh College of Art
Michelle Quin/University of Sheffield