The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) NSW 2022 Awards have been announced, with a household garden taking out the big win.
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Night Sky Garden by landscape architect, Sophie Zaccone, won a Landscape Architecture Award for its incredible subtlety and beauty.
The Blue Mountains home is surrounded by a bed of sweeping, swaying grasses, which beautifully compliments the stone and wood textures of the house.
Zaccone worked closely with the architect, Peter Stutchbury, to create an effortless symphony between home and landscape, both of which seem as if they've organically appeared from the ground.
The jury said this is "a restrained project that has been thoughtfully conceived and integrated with the architecture. The craft of the Landscape Architect is evidenced in the planting design, materiality and exploration of the seamless transitions between the architecture and landscape".
The house and garden were designed for a single astronomer who used a wheelchair.
The design meets the client's physical needs and desires to live in harmony with the local landscape.
The home acts as an observatory, allowing the owner to gaze skywards through an elliptical hole and out to the landscape, which pays homage to the wilderness of the local region.
The garden, located on Darug and Gundungurra Country in Blackheath, celebrates Australian native species through the planting.
The restrained palette of only 18 species includes 16 natives, 10 of which are endemic to the local area.
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The jury said this is "a restrained project that has been thoughtfully conceived and integrated with the architecture. The craft of the Landscape Architect is evidenced in the planting design, materiality and exploration of the seamless transitions between the architecture and landscape".
Meanwhile, landscape architect Jane Irwin's project for the Government House Gardens also took out a Landscape Architecture Award in the Gardens category.
The project involved the revitalisation of the historic formal Easter Terrace gardens at Sydney's Government House.
The architects reimagined the exotic garden beds of the Eastern Terrace, working with native plant specialists at Sydney Wildflower Nursery to make a uniquely Australian interpretation of traditional English perennial garden beds.
The awards celebrated a total of 38 exemplary projects of all scales from across the state, including gardens and play-spaces, through to health and green infrastructure.
The winners were selected from a record number of 91 entries across 15 categories and were announced at an event in Sydney on June 9.
Winners at the State Awards level proceed to the National Landscape Architecture Awards program held later this year.
