Cape Town - Winners of the Corobrik Institute for Landscape Architecture in South Africa Awards of Excellence 2015 were announced at an event at the Cape Town Club on October 3.
A total of 32 entries was received in three categories from three areas within South Africa – the South, North and KwaZulu-Natal panels. Fourteen Corobrik Ilasa merit awards of excellence were presented for projects judged in the Western Cape or South Panel, and included two international projects.
Clare Burgess co-ordinated the judges for the southern area and the panel included landscape architect and urban designer Rene Brett, urban designer Rudi Botha and architect Ian Gray.
“The quality of projects submitted for this year’s event was extremely high and show that the landscape architectural profession is gaining status in the built environment,” said Burgess.
About the awards
Every second year Ilasa calls for submissions for the awards, with the aim of acknowledging and promoting excellence in the landscape, architectural and environmental planning and management through peer review recognition.
Professional practices submit projects which they believe showcase the diverse range of work that falls under the portfolio of work undertaken by a landscape architect. Judges adjudicate the written submissions and visit most of the completed projects.
In the publications category, landscape architect Bernard Oberholzer was presented with a merit award of excellence as well as the prestigious president’s award, for his educational publication, Reading the Landscape, aimed at the landscape and built environment professions. The award is the highest award available for landscape architecture in South Africa.
City of Cape Town awards
Ilasa presented the City of Cape Town’s City Parks Department with a merit award of excellence for Phase 1 of its Smart Parks concept. The first three parks in Gugulethu, Khayelitsha and Blikkiesdorp were designed by landscape architect Nicole Strong.
The City’s Spatial Planning and Urban Design department also picked up two awards. The first was presented for the landscaped gardens around the Human Settlements Contact Centre, the first green star-rated City of Cape Town Council housing offices in Manenberg, and a second award for Phase 1 and 2 of the rehabilitation of the open spaces and footpaths along Main Road, from Muizenberg to Kalk Bay harbour.
Vergelegen’s East Garden
OvP Associates, designers of an exquisite new garden at Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West, were also recipients of a merit award of excellence, one of four presented to the company for 2015.
The garden, known as the East Garden, was completed in December 2012, the 18th garden to be constructed on the 315-year old estate. It incorporates a massed planting of agapanthus, a children’s adventure playground and a maze.
More than 15 000 agapanthus 15+ cultivars were planted in bold diagonal bands, showcasing the variety of colours, sizes and flowering times of these beautiful plants. The maze is positioned to the side of the agapanthus garden, and its “walls” have been planted with vines.
“Our brief was to complement the newly-created Stables family restaurant and extend the indoors to the outdoors, while capturing the distant mountain vistas,” said landscape architect, Johan van Papendorp.
“Our challenge was to echo the axial nature set by the manor house and octagonal garden three centuries ago.”
Rosary House at Springfield Convent School
Tarna Klitzner of Tarna Klitzner Landscape Architects (TKLA) with her team, Kathrin Krause and Gabi Booysen, picked up the merit award of excellence for their work on the gardens surrounding a new retirement home for Dominican nuns, within the precinct of Springfield Convent School in Wynberg.
This feminine garden comprises a number of landscaped rooms – an indigenous garden, a vegetable garden, meadow orchards and roses sprinkled about the plantings. The plantings have resulted in an abundance of visual and sensory experiences, which add to the healing value of the landscape.
“Most surprising for us has been the response from the school community who pass the garden on entering and leaving the school,” said Klitzner.
“Mothers have phoned to tell us how much delight they experience daily when viewing the garden.”
Oasis Luxury Retirement Resort gardens
Landscape architect Jacques Dohse and his team at Planning Partners received a merit award of excellence for the landscaped gardens in the Oasis Luxury Retirement Resort in Century City, one of three awards picked up by the company at this year’s event.
The exquisite gardens, restful water features and plantings live up to the development’s name, becoming truly an oasis for residents to enjoy.
A palette of indigenous plants, groundcover, shrubs and trees were used in the landscape.
Water features consisting of streams and ponds were included for tranquillity.
The pond and streams utilise double-treated grey water which is purified through the Intaka Island wetlands system.
“The linear nature of the space lends itself to a series of garden experiences which are tied together by the repeated use of hardy and attractive plants and lawns, and the overall impact is that the Oasis Retirement Resort is defined by the quality of its landscaping,” said Clare Burgess.
Kay Montgomery, Independent HOME