SHORTLISTED
THE IAN POTTER CHILDREN’S WILD PLAY GARDEN Location: Centennial Parklands, Sydney, Australia. Credits: ASPECT Studios, Botanic Gardens & Centennial Parklands, Sam Crawford Architects, Cave Urban, Design Landscapes, Fleetwood Urban
The project vision for the Ian Potter Children’s WILD PLAY Garden was to create a children’s garden comprising dedicated natural spaces to inspire and encourage young people to engage in exciting, creative and imaginative outdoor activities. WILD PLAY is a botanical wonderland nestled within the grand tree-lined avenues and rolling hills of Sydney’s Centennial Parklands. Created as a counterpoint to an increasingly dense and digitalised urban life, WILD PLAY is immersive experience. It’s rich with plants and sculpture, and encourages young imaginations to run wild.
The project draws on a range of environmental research from educators and organisations that highlights the importance of nature in the development of resilient, creative, compassionate and healthy children. The site is one of Sydney’s most densely vegetated landscapes in an urban area, with over 13,000 trees, shrubs, succulents, grasses and groundcovers planted. Of the 22 tree
and 57 understorey species used, more than half are native to Australia. ASPECT Studios led the design team from competition through to completion. The project illustrates how landscape architecture can inspire in children a deep love and respect of nature, ultimately leading to advocacy and stewardship of natural systems and a more resilient and harmonious future.
The biggest challenge for the landscape architects was reducing the negative impact of the Three Gorges Reservoir hydro-fluctuation zone on the urban waterfront landscape, which would seasonally be flooded. The project team took this constraint and turned it into a benefit. Through their innovative design, they created resilient landscapes which adapt to
the change of reservoir water level, providing new public spaces and significantly improving the quality of the county town. The project has become a example for the waterfront green belt of Yunyang, and also offers a reference for other cities along the Three Gorges Reservoir.
SHORTLISTED
YUNYANG BEACH AND WATER GARDEN Location: Yunyang County Town, China Credits: Beijing Forestry University / Atelier DYJG
Yunyang County Town is located on the bank of the Three Gorges Reservoir. Over the 20 years since its original construction, the pre-existing parks along the waterfront area of the town had become outdated and underused. As a response, local government officials wanted to construct a coherent system of waterfront parks and greenways in the area. The landscape architects’ strategy aimed to strengthen the connection between the town and the waterfront, improving the quality of the landscape, while also providing a variety of social functions in a new and vibrant waterfront.
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