AILA – FNQ,  Renée Jezard

Tropical Christmas Party - Renee Jezard

23 tropically dressed Landscape Architects and designers attended the tropical themed Christmas Party held on the 4th December at The Australian Hotel.  Everyone enjoyed a 3 course meal under a fairy light encrusted gazebo in the Hotel’s outdoor eating area.  To add to the tropical Christmas atmosphere, the tables were decorated with confetti and, green, orange and purple Balloons and Strelitzia centre pieces.

Greg LeBrocque representing JMAC Constructions, for the second year running, generously sponsored the evening.

All those who attended were asked to participate in an amusing ‘ice breaker’ activity which involved getting to know one another, by informing the group of their very ‘worst’ or very ‘first’ job (it didn’t necessarily have to relate to landscaping). 

At the end of the evening, everyone received a ‘noodle box’ gift containing AILA and JMAC souvenirs and chocolates.  Those that were keen to party on into the wee hours of the morning, headed to the Consortium Night Club on Flinders Street East.

Best Male Tropical Outfit was awarded to Hywel Jones from Hywel Jones Landscape Architects, who in true ‘Zoolander’ style paraded his Hawaiian shirt and lei.  Renee Jezard from Conics was voted by her peers, for Best Female Tropical Outfit, and graciously accepted the Malibu and Apricot Liquor gifts! (Cheers guys! Not rigged at all…)

Thanks once again to Wal Smith and Steve Falvey (Place Design), Andy Froggatt and Lucilla Marshall (Townsville City Council) for their superb organizational efforts! 

 

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FIELD TRIP - Renee Jezard

The field trip on the 19th February 2010 consisted of 16 Landscape Architects, Designers and their staff. 

The purpose of the trip was to view Townsville’s most notable landscape projects, and learn of their design intent, issues that arose from inception through to construction, and the successes of the projects.

                 

                                    

ITARA RIVERWAY APARTMENTS

The landscape architectural design was undertaken by Place Design.  Wal Smith and Steve Falvey took the group on a tour through the residential complex.  It was the first apartment complex of its kind in Townsville.  The development was committed to maintaining most of the mature trees on site and has integrated environmentally sensitive principles into its design.

RIVERWAY ALL ABILITIES PLAYGROUND

All Abilities playground idea was born by Townsville City Council’s, Lucilla Marshall.  The addition of the all abilities play space to the Riverway precinct enables all children, both with and without a disability, to play together and enjoy all the recreational Ross River Park hub offers.  In total 250 local residents were active participants in the planning, design and construction of the playground.  RPS (formerly Conics) was engaged by Townsville City Council to undertake Design Development and Construction Documentation.  Michelle Elms and Glen Power from RPS were the Landscape Architects for this project.

KALYNDA CHASE

Hywel Jones and Tim Connor from Hywel Jones Landscape Architects (HJLA) undertook the design, documentation and delivery of this master-planned residential subdivision.  Kalynda Chase offers the perfect balance between open space and city convenience.  28 hectares of parks are included in this development, with the idea that there is a connection to a park at the end of every street, which in turn gives the feeling of an ‘extended garden’ to every resident.

NORTHSHORE RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION AND ASSOCIATED RECREATIONAL OPEN SPACE AREAS

Hywel Jones took us on a tour through Northshore Residential Subdivision.  Northshore is a master-planned development that will be home to 15,000 residents over the next 15 years.  It includes a town centre with retail, commercial and leisure facilities, around 380 hectares of residential living and more than 3865 hectares of open space.  With local knowledge and experience, HJLA in conjunction with RPS were able to consider the local climate and environmental factors to support a community in tune with its surroundings.

WESTERN LIONS PARK

Western Lions Park was upgraded as part of the Community Renewal Program - an initiative delivered in partnership between state and local governments, business, residents and the community sector to delivers projects that improve people’s lives in selected Queensland communities.  The master plan prepared by HJLA was informed by the findings of the ‘Communities for Children Recreation Needs Analysis’ report commissioned under the Communities for Children program for the Townsville West Area.  Improvements to the park included: a new children’s play area, shade shelters, a shared bicycle / footpath, footpaths, solar lighting, installation of bollards around the perimeter of the park, additional shade trees, a drink fountain, garden beds and a dry creek bed informal play area.

                            

                                                                                          

A big thank you to our RPS Landscape Architect/come bus-driver, James Stirton, for getting us home in one piece! 

Our next event will be held Friday 23rd April 2010 and co-hosted with UDIA – “Productive Landscapes Seminar”. 

More details coming soon…

AILA BRISBANE – Lauren Walsh

AILA FRESH

GOALS / OVERVIEW

The Goals of AILA FRESH QLD is to provide Landscape Architecture students, both studying and recently graduated,  with the opportunity to engage, discuss and celebrate with industry professionals and other graduates on a much wider platform. These opportunities will present themselves through event forums & exhibitions (ENGAGE), lectures & seminars (DISCUSS), site visits (EXPLORE), or social events (CELEBRATE).

The AILA FRESH QLD committee members for 2010-2011 are Callum Mathieson, Jane Hulme, Lauren Walsh and Andrea Ryan. Together we will help generate the support network for the AILA FRESH members and be responsible for ensuring they have access to all the necessary information required to kick start a strong and motivated future in our profession.

The committee’s first action for 2010 was to engage first year students at QUT’s Orientation Week (O Week).

QUT O WEEK.

For QUT O Week, AILA QLD appointed Andrea Ryan to introduce the profession and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.  

“QUT is one of the leading educators of Landscape Architecture in Australia, providing its students with the professional skills and ethics to practice in and advance the profession of Landscape Architecture. Landscape Architecture is concerned with the ordered design of open spaces at all scales: the appearance, atmosphere, and suitability of environment, to assure its health and welfare and that of its inhabitants. QUT landscape Architecture course covers landscape theory and design, professional values, environment theory, graphic and other communication, and landscape construction supported by project and field work.”

2010 is the first time QUT students would have heard about AILA FRESH QLD and the new initiatives set in place to support their growth within our profession. To kick start the year, the AILA FRESH committee decided to provide its members with a number of discounts and deals.

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DEALS

DEAL 1: Membership Discount

AILA QLD will subsidies Student Memberships for one year. Membership is for the 2010–2011 financial year, but if you sign up earlier you will get a couple of months for free! You must sign up before July 1st 2010 to receive one of two discount membership rates;

1. Student Member Level 1: QUT Students First Year of Membership only $22 (normally $33) All student membership benefits, but no hard copy publications or mail-outs.

2. Student Member Level 2: QUT Students first year of Membership only $66 (normally $110) The same as level 1 plus publications, including the Landscape Architecture Australia magazine and Landmark Newsletter.

DEAL 2: Giveaway

All students who sign up for QUT O Week Special membership will be eligible to win one of three (3) free passes to all AILA QLD events for the 2010 / 2011 Financial Year (excluding New Members and Fellows Dinner & AILA Awards). Competition closes on July 1st 2010.

DEAL 3: Event Student Prices

All AILA Student Members will receive a further discount ticket rate to AILA QLD Events

$20 for student members (unless noted otherwise)

$30 for student non-members (unless noted otherwise)

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Useful Websites for AILA FRESH MEMBERS

AILA / QLD home page

http://www.aila.org.au/qld/

http://www.aila.org.au/

Membership forms

http://www.aila.org.au/membership/Benefits.htm

http://www.aila.org.au/membership/documents/Gradapplication.pdf

http://www.aila.org.au/membership/students.htm

CAREERS in Landscape Architecture

http://www.aila.org.au/careers/docs/AILA-LndscpArch.pdf

CALENDAR of AILA QLD Events

http://www.aila.org.au/qld/calendar.htm

http://www.aila.org.au/qld/events.htm

AILA FRESH QLD

Watch this space!

 

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Discuss Forum Event on Contemporary Park Issues – March Event – Lauren Walsh

On the 11th March 2010 the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects QLD Group hosted a Discuss Forum Event on Contemporary Park Issues, which received a popular attendance of over 100 guests. Thanks to our event sponsors Shaun Walsh from PLACE Brisbane and Alan Hoban from Healthy Waterways Partnership’s Water by Design Program, we were able to present 3 very exciting guest speakers, each who tackled this topic from a different angle. 

The first speaker was Joshua Hinwood from AECOM. An Associate Director in the Brisbane studio of the Design + Planning practice at AECOM, Joshua has 12 years experience as a landscape architect. Joshua has extensive experience on a range of projects including broad scale master planning, public open space design, urban structure planning, infrastructure, resorts, residential and commercial developments. He has a proven ability to project manage a multi-disciplinary design team, effectively engaging stakeholders and the general public in the process of design development. Joshua’s strong skills in design, communication, project management and delivery allow him to achieve innovative, best quality results. Joshua provided us with an overview to the design of the Broadwater Parklands, which was inspired by Broadwater’s natural beauty, its juxtaposition to the surrounding urban environment and the Gold Coast’s vibrant lifestyle.

Joshua believes that “To create world class public environments it is essential to look beyond the boundaries of a site and beyond the norm. By taking a step back and looking at the long term benefits our profession and expertise can provide to the various layers of society and environment, we can deliver open spaces such as the Broadwater Parklands that not only look and feel vibrant, but have a conscience and create a legacy for generations to come.”

Following Joshua’s Design Analysis on the Contemporary Park Issues topic, we heard from Peter Savage, who until recently was the Manager Parks for the Moreton Bay Regional Council. The MBRC parks portfolio covers 8,000ha of parks and reserves and a large number of urban streetscapes. The design of these landscapes is undertaken by council staff and a broad cross section of landscape architects through renewal projects and the development industry. Peter believes that there are times when the designer’s best intentions don't actually translate into an outcome which can be economically maintained and some that reflect a disconnection between design and the realities of long term maintenance. In order to help highlight some of these examples, Peter showcased a rogue’s gallery of the bad and the ugly, and taught us a few lessons from the maintenance team.

Peter’s tips on designing for the realities of long term maintenance provided a great starting point for our final speak Shaun Walsh from PLACE Brisbane. Shaun is the Design Manager for PLACE Brisbane. There are many case studies where water sensitive urban design is meaningfully integrated into parklands and can increase park amenity, however typically no open space credits are available for WSUD approaches. Throughout Shaun’s presentation he raised many questions that pushed the boundaries of how we currently approach WSUD in our landscape Designs. He asked the question “Is it time for a fresh approach to WSUD?” To help answer such bold questions and to provided us with some food for thought, Shaun presented a discussion paper that he has been working on. PLACE Design Group and Bligh Tanner have been engaged by the SEQ Healthy waterways Partnership’s Water by Design program to prepare a discussion paper exploring issues and approaches to integrating water sensitive urban design and public open space. Traditional stormwater management infrastructure has been seen as compromising the functions of public open space because its purpose was only the rapid conveyance of water with little consideration for amenity or environmental impact.  However, WSUD and public open space have a number of common objectives.

The findings in this discussion paper show that public open space is not necessarily compromised by incorporating WSUD and that WSUD inclusion can actually enhance public open spaces. Similarly, using public open space for WSUD infrastructure also provides incentives to promote higher standards of WSUD.  A proposed framework is presented which presents design standards for different types of open space. This has been developed based on research, case studies, and stakeholder consultation.

The Discussion Paper has been published on line at http://waterbydesign.com.au/multiple-use-of-open-space-discussion-paper/
and comments are welcome until 21 June.

Overall this event provided three unique yet complimentary views to approaching Contemporary Park Issues. AILA QLD would like to extend a big thank you to Joshua Hinwood for his design analysis presentation on the design of the Broadwater Parklands, to Peter Savage for his honest opinions and tips from the maintenance team, and to Shaun Walsh for his proposed framework on design standards for using public open space for WSUD infrastructure.

Lauren Walsh

Sponsor Articles

Pacific Trees - Christina Gnezdiloff

2010 has certainly started off wet! At the nursery we have received in excess of 900mm of good soaking rain. The trees are growing rapidly and are all lush with new growth. It’s amazing the impact rain has over irrigation.

The rain isn’t the only thing at Pacific Trees that has had an impact this year, the success of our Cassia Rainbow Shower tree production has also been positive. From 2011 we will have large numbers of this spectacular tree available for sale, ready for use in your projects.  Another project we have been working on is successfully moving extra large trees, such as 8m Lophostemon confertus, this has been achieved with 100% success. You can now confidently specify extra large trees and know that Pacific Trees is up to the job. As always though, it is important to procure trees of this size early in any project, Pacific Trees have experience in contract negotiation between client, Landscape Architect and nursery to ensure your vision is realised at construction time. If you have any questions about how this can be achieved, please give us a call. Don’t forget to visit our website www.pacifictrees.com.au acific Trees Winter Update - Christina Gnezdiloff

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KOMPAN AND URBAN PLAY – COMPLETE PLAYGROUND SOLUTIONS – Ben Urban

KOMPAN and URBAN PLAY are delighted to become AILA Qld sponsors for 2010. 

We see this as the beginning of a long and healthy relationship with AILA and its members.

Kompan has been designing and manufacturing international award winning play equipment for over 35 years. 

Kompan’s mission is ‘to create challenging and exciting play concepts for active playful living’ – where children use their minds as much as their hands and feet.

Urban Play is the exclusive Kompan agent for Queensland.  Urban Play offers complete playground solutions for children of all ages and all abilities in any environment – be it parks, schools, shopping centres, residential estates, childcare centres or retirement villages.  Together Kompan and Urban Play are committed to creating attractive and stimulating playgrounds that enrich children’s development and provide lasting value to our customers.  Over the past decade we have worked closely with many Landscape Architect firms throughout Queensland to develop a wonderful portfolio of unique and successful playground projects.

We have an extensive range of products which is to accommodate any age, budget and environment without sacrificing quality and design. 

Our Services:

• Free playground planning and design
• Playground installation
• Rubber Surfacing
• Shade solutions
• Street furniture
• Certified Bark and Sand Softfall
• Playground Maintenance and Inspections
• Spare Parts

For more information call (07) 3844 1877 or visit www.urbanplay.com.au

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STREET AND GARDEN FURNITURE – Surya Graf

        

 

        

CALOUNDRA FORESHORE / BULCOCK BEACH:

Designed by Surya Graf in conjunction with Place Design Group, the suite was specifically developed for the Bulcock Beach Esplanade site. With forms inspired by coastal themes , the main focus of the furniture suite was to encourage the communal use of the site. Motivated by longevity and ease of maintenance, the material palette for the suite uses anodised aluminium and CNC machined hardwood timber. This extensive suite includes a variety of bench seats, picnic settings, bar settings, bollards, bicycle racks, beach showers and a number of sculptural lighting and signage elements.