Visionary Project Takes Top Planning Award

Media Release
March 9 2011
Under Embargo till 7.00pm March 9 2011
Visionary Project Takes Top Planning Award
A planning project that sought ‘wild ideas’ from Western Australia’s top urban design and planning professionals
has taken out the nation’s top planning award.
The project titled ‘What if – Ideas for the City of Perth’, has received the coveted Minister’s Award at The Planning
Institute of Australia (PIA) National Awards for Planning Excellence announced in Hobart.
PIA National President Dyan Currie said the project was an excellent example of how the planning profession is
becoming more visionary and creative in planning sustainable communities for the future.
“This urban design project was designed to encourage innovation and stimulate community debate around certain
areas in the City of Perth without the traditional constraints of a formal brief,” Ms Currie said.
“Some of the State’s top design and planning professionals had input to this idea and the result is nothing short of
excellent.”
The PIA National Awards for Planning Excellence are held each year with entries comprising projects already
judged at a state level.
In awarding the City of Perth the top national honour for 2011 the judges praised the ‘What If’ project for its ability
to influence thinking about the future development of Perth.
The judges citation read: “The “What If” project set out to challenge conventional thinking and stimulate ongoing
public interest as to the future form of parts of the capital city of Western Australia. The judges noted that the
results were exciting and remind us all of the relevance of creativity and community discussion involvement in
planning.”
Award winners in other categories at the PIA National Awards include:
The President’s Award
Winner: – Landcom with Kenesis and Simpson + Wilson.
Project: PRECINX Landcom Sustainability Tool.
Lifetime Achievement Award:
Winner: Chris Buckley LFPIA CPP – Queensland.
Social and Community Based Planning
Winner: SGS Economics & Planning In conjunction with Environmetrics
Project: Dollars and Sense: The Community Value of Victorian Public Libraries.
Media
Winner: Jason Dowling & Clay Lucas – The Age.
Project: Project Melbourne.
Environmental Planning or Conservation
Winner: Hansen Partnership – In partnership with Sustainable Built Environments.
Project: Local Government Planning for Sustainable Buildings Guide.
Rural and Regional Planning
Winner: Department of Primary Industries.
Project: Strategic Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change in Regional Systems – A Case
Study: South West Victoria.
Student Project Award 2011 Tertiary-
Winner: Paul Bormann – University of Melbourne.
Project: An Investigation into the Optimisation of the Frankston City Bus Feeder Network.
Student Project – Secondary
Winner: Alice Doring, Stuartholme School
Project: Report Primary data
Planning Scholarship Research or Teaching
Winner: Robert Freestone FPIA CPP
Project: Urban Nation: Australia’s Planning Heritage
Australian Young Planner of the Year 2010 –
Winner: Laura Gannon – Queensland.
Media Contact : Geoff Mullins at Pan Communications 0402 070 225
Planning Institute Australia