- National Student Design Competition 2005

National Student Design Competition 2005

Wendy Carroll, Carroll Landscape Design The response to the inaugural AILDM Student Design Competition has been fantastic with over 70 entries from NSW, ACT, Victoria and Queensland. Entry standards were very high. Design merit, clarity of presentation, attention to detail and well-researched materials portfolios showed that there are many excellent landscape designers-in-training studying at both university and TAFE. AILDM has a strong commitment to education and hopes that participation in the competition will help all students become aware of the role of AILDM in the landscape industry and how it can assist those planning careers in landscape design.

The four-person judging panel of practising landscape designers found the judging a difficult task, given the quality of so many of the entries. The design brief given to all applicants is very clear and was the basis for the initial assessment - including compliance with all the requisite entry elements. Also, one important judging criterion was presentation so this also helped narrow down the leading entries. Never-the less, there were many difficult decisions to be made. The short list of entries was then assessed on design merit, fitness to the brief and presentation.

One feature of many of the entries - overall as well as in the short list - was what the judging committee thought a too-heavy emphasis on hard surfaces. Many of the hard spaces suggested in the design were quite large in relation to the overall design area. Also, there was a tendency to over-compartmentalize the design area; the concept of garden rooms is a tried and true principle of garden design but care must be taken not to fragment a fairly small area. These two issues were seen as important because they point to the potential “livability” of the designs - the gardens need to be enjoyed by people and not just admired as elegant artifacts.

The winning entry was submitted by Wendy Carroll of Newport, NSW. The judges were unanimous in finding her flowing organic shapes, massing and hierarchies of planting along with her beautiful and legible presentation the best entry.

There was also strong support for the exuberant, quirky yet feasible design of Victoria McCallum of Berowra, NSW. Her design has a great deal of energy and panache both in design and presentation and is the runner-up.

There were to be just the two awards but the judges, again unanimously, wished to acknowledge the creativity and professional presentation of Mark Hill of Mona Vale, NSW.

The board of AILDM, in particular the judging committee, wish to thank all the entrants for making this inaugural student design competition so successful. It’s heartening to see so much talent on display. The vast majority of entries came from NSW, but the judging committee believes this imbalance will be rectified over time as other landscape design centres around the country become involved in subsequent competitions.