LANDSCAPE OF THE YEAR

Landscape of the Year winner - Australian Ecosystems, Connewarre Project

The typical residential and commercial landscape projects seen at previous Landscaping Victoria Industry Awards were this year upstaged by a unique wetland restoration project with the prestigious Landscape of the Year Award being awarded to Australian Ecosystems for their Armstrong Creek, Connewarre project.

Brendan Condon, Director of Australian Ecosystems, and his dedicated team made multiple appearances on stage also collecting awards for Plants in the Landscape, Landscape Maintenance & Management, and The Natural Built Landscape.

Hard Structures in the Landscape - Ian Barker Gardens, Camberwell Project

Judges’ comments about the project described the Connewarre project as “a major environmental project that is immaculately detailed, making it a community success - a beautiful place for walking, playing and enjoying the outdoors for humans, and through natural rock placement and the use of tree stags as habitat areas, a sanctuary for wildlife too.”

“Australian Ecosystems have delivered wow factor on a grand scale. Sustainability principles, water usage, and plant selection have all come together to deliver a project that works harmoniously on all levels and does nothing to distract from the natural environment, but rather, enhances it. This is a stellar project for Victoria and an incredible showcase of the breadth of works Landscaping Victoria members can perform,” the judges went on to say.

Commercial Landscape Construction Under $500,000 - Landstruct Landscape Construction, Toorak Project

A project in Camberwell displaying technical brilliance and very high standards of workmanship, earned Ian Barker Gardens a win for Residential Landscape Construction over $300k. Earlier in the evening, the same project, which the Judges noted was a “harmonious and functional lifestyle solution”, also took out top honours for Hard Structures in the Landscape, in addition to commendations across Planting, Design and Maintenance categories.

“The entire design heroes an existing Elm, but more than that, achieves a sense of immediate balance between the hard and soft-scape which is rarely seen in such a new landscape,” stated the judges.

Relative newcomer, Ben Harris of Ben Harris Gardens took out two highly commended awards for his delightful Upwey project, which features “an incredibly natural looking watercourse that hugs the external living spaces and utilises the natural levels well”. Ben was also named the Rising Star for 2017. The judges were impressed by Ben and his quality team, who believe in what they do - creating and producing natural environments for people and wildlife to enjoy.

Landscape Design Under 60sqm - C.O.S Design, Canterbury Project

Not to be outdone by the young guns, two industry stalwarts, Steve Taylor of COS Design and Dave Franklin of Franklin Landscape & Design both walked away with trophies and commendations on the night. COS Design took out both Landscape Design under 60sqm and Landscape Design 60-200sqm, for innovative design solutions in Canterbury and Hawthorn respectively. Dave’s rooftop project in Port Melbourne was the winner of Landscape Design over 200sqm, for its thoughtful connection to the historic building upon which it sits, and the multitude of complexities overcome, such as drainage and weight issues, to achieve a magnificent end result.

Commercial Landscape Construction Over $500,000 - UDL Group, Carlton Project

These are but a few of the highlights of this year’s Awards. For the full list of winners from the 2017 Landscaping Victoria Industry Awards CLICK HERE