Co-convenors The Australian Institute of Architects, the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects and the Planning Institute of Australia have unveiled the winners of the 2024 Australian Urban Design Awards. 

Established in 1996, the awards seek to recognise exemplary urban design projects across Australia, advocating for best practices that enrich communities and cities nationwide.

Convenor of Juries Katherine Sundermann says each winning project carries an underlying theme of unity and place.

“This year’s awards have demonstrated that good urban design is not a superficial or optional layer to how we build cities, but a fundamental and unifying way to create places that connect us to each other and begin to address climate and biodiversity crises,” she says.

“The role of government in leading innovation is evident in the award-winning streetscape and riverside transformations led by the City of Melbourne and City of Sydney. Here, public land is rediscovered for human and ecological benefit. 

“A renewed focus on developing an evidence base for good urban design is highlighted in ‘Quantifying Quality’, marrying algorithmic assessment with crowd-sourced public intelligence to define the most important elements of public space, alongside commended projects that provide targeted tools to lift the quality of ‘missing middle’ housing and transport projects.” 

Over 100 entries were submitted across two categories – Built Projects and Leadership, and Advocacy & Research. Projects were then categorised by city and region, and then local and neighbourhood scale.

The winners were celebrated at an awards dinner at Parliament House last night (March 18). Please find the full winner’s list below.

Southbank Blvd

Winners and Commendations

BUILT PROJECTS – CITY AND REGIONAL SCALE

Winner: George Street, Sydney | City of Sydney (pictured top)

Commendation: Walyalup Civic Centre | KHA 

BUILT PROJECTS – LOCAL AND NEIGHBOURHOOD SCALE

Winner: Transforming Southbank Boulevard | City of Melbourne with T.C.L. and Mike Hewson (pictured above)

Commendation: Lilydale and Mooroolbark Stations | BKK Architects and Kyriacou Architects and ASPECT Studios

Commendation: Er Pavilion | vittinoAshe in collaboration with Brendan Moore, Melissa Cameron, and Syrinx

LEADERSHIP, RESEARCH & ADVOCACY – CITY AND REGIONAL SCALE

Winner: The Greenline Project | City of Melbourne with ASPECT x TCL (pictured below)

Greenline

Commendation: Value Assessment System for Place (VASP) | Transport for NSW Urban Design (Public Transport & Precincts)

Commendation: Macquarie Park Innovation Precinct – Stage 1 | AJC

LEADERSHIP, RESEARCH & ADVOCACY – LOCAL AND NEIGHBOURHOOD SCALE

Winner: Quantifying Quality | SJB and UTS

Commendation: Gurner Avenue Austral | e8urban pty ltd

Commendation: Height of Building and FSR Alignment Study | Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects, Olsson Architecture Urban Projects, City of Sydney Strategic Planning