jury citation: ‘The result of a seven-year, three-stage relationship between architect and client, Pascoe Vale Primary School has been cleverly transformed in a way that sensitively respects the story of the campus, while setting the stage for exciting future learning. The growing strength of the relationship between Kosloff Architects and Pascoe Vale Primary is evident in the design outcome; each stage shows a deeper understanding of the site, context and the school identity than the one that precedes it. The introduction of Indigenous thinking from the second stage further connects the campus with place.
The outcome is a striking yet unified school campus that instils calm pride in its community. The building responds cleverly to its context, pushing hard against noisy roads, and pulling back to wrap around ageing peppercorn trees and sensitive spaces. Brick is the hero across all three stages, with the new buildings engaging in a playful dialogue with the original heritage building.
Learning spaces, both inside and out, are flexible, practical and fun. What makes this place special, however, are the magical moments for learning woven throughout the design – from the solar system windows, to the integrated sundial, to the geometric gate by Kent Morris, every detail is considered. The result is a building that will remain in the memories of students well beyond their time at primary school.’

jury citation: ‘Tiny Patches’ is an ingenious response to habitat fragmentation that creatively reimagines everyday urban elements to promote biodiversity. Shopping trolleys were used to house a mobile flock of tiny wetlands, tiny forests and tiny grasslands.

These mobile habitats accommodate specific ecological types across the fragmented ecologies of Brunswick. A public exhibition ‘Tiny Patches’ gathered together experts, and the community, to stimulate conversations and to advocate for novel approaches to biodiversity loss and habitat fragmentation.

jury citation: Michelle Guglielmo Park inserts much needed public space into the dense urban fabric of Brunswick. A multi-functional and culturally resonant space, the design embraced community through both form and process. The park now supports a considered range of activities and experiences within a small footprint. A strong environmental agenda addresses climate resilience, water and biodiversity with overt responsibility. This revitalised space is testament to client aspiration, thoughtful design, collaborative process and a shared commitment to environmental and social sustainability.’

‘This project demonstrates a regenerative design process, through its translation from a former concrete hardstand to a responsibly designed new urban space. The project team has considered multiple approaches to sustainability, including the substantial reuse of stone, brick and timber materials. The design increases site permeability for improved soil health, integrated water management, and the use of native plant species. Together these strategies have delivered a well-designed local park which minimises its carbon footprint, mitigates microclimate, and targets improved biodiversity.’

jury citation: ‘A key success of this project is its civic generosity. Critical site planning and design moves by a collaborative design team have established civic permeability throughout the site. By incorporating cultural history and site history into the design and detailing, the design team have created a space that offers a richly textured experience and deepens users? connection to culture, environment and place.’

The new Galkangu building in central Bendigo creates economic and career opportunities for our community, whilst providing key facilities to live and thrive. Government agency teams and departments that were formerly located in separate locations have been centralised, enabling collaboration in ways that were not previously possible.

This landmark building represents and respects the values of Bendigo’s traditional owners, the Dja Dja Wurrung people, and creates a space for reflection and reconciliation. The foyer and customer service centre enable us to provide a wider range of more accessible services, engaging us with our local community in an enriching way.

"Designed by Kosloff Architecture in close consultation with the school community and project stakeholders, it provides an impressive range of engaging and adaptable learning and administration spaces, while consistently looking past the edges of its condensed campus."

jury citation: “The jury commends the Bangs and Mount Street Parks submission as an innovative precedent for small-scale social spaces, offering vibrant, colourful, and texture-rich environments inspired by the local neighbourhood and its history. Framed by four key concepts celebrating the environment, history, and community, the parks showcase a creative and playful use of form and function, providing a cohesive and memorable experience. Collaborative partnerships with experts and artists further enriched the project, setting a bold new standard for smaller-scale urban renewal projects.”

jury citation: “The strength and significance of this high-quality, collaboratively designed project is the successful reconnection of the University of Melbourne’s Parkville Campus to the urban fabric of the city. The removal of an existing building enabled the creation of a transition plaza to meld the campus in with its urban surroundings. While the new central amphitheatre is the focus of the daily student experience, it creatively blends into the surrounding city and campus by creating new laneways and plaza spaces.”

Regional town category

First place

Manu Place by Monash Urban Lab with NMBW Architecture Studio, BoardGrove Architects, BLOXAS and GLAS Landscape Architects.

jury citation: This is an outstanding proposition which critically addressed the Principles and Guidelines with a strong and appropriately scaled low-rise spatial program sensitively and intelligently embedded within the site context and neighbourhood

jury citation: "The Jewell Station project has seen the transformation of a congested and unsafe laneway environment into a valuable piece of public realm integrated with the broader precinct. The Jury commends the strong collaboration of transport planning, and landscape architecture. GLAS Landscape Architects provides a carefully articulated shared zone that greatly improves pedestrian and cycle flows as well as creating attractive spaces to dwell.”

jury citation: “University of Melbourne Student Precinct is a transformative, scalable urban project that realises a strong co-designed vision. A vision that recognises the social ecologies in play over time and the critical need for healthy habitats everywhere and anywhere.”

jury citation: “It offers the community an exceptional level of accessibility, inclusivity and exchange for learning, activities and ideas.”

jury citation: “The Forest Biomes project cleverly integrates lush, green, natural spaces into this learning village. The Forest Biomes project provides an exemplary precedent for the discipline of landscape architecture specific to the Melbourne context, proving that meaningful ‘green’ indoor environments can be created for the benefit of the building users.”

jury citation: “the Mount street pocket parks’ design team and client are to be commended for their vision to create a new network of public open spaces that is socially engaging and environmentally progressive. transforming underutilised spaces in an established neighbourhood is a triumphant display of prioritising healthy communities and responding to the needs of an ever-growing population in the inner suburbs.”

jury citation: “the re-surfacing of valley creek exemplifies how urban drains can be converted into engaging and attractive waterways. underpinned by clear environmental drivers and robust engineering this deceptively simple outcome is polished and finely executed. it delivers wide-ranging ecological benefits and creates an appealing open space for students and residents.”

jury citation: “tiny wetland is a micro-scaled exploratory project that ingeniously extends the creative practice of its associated landscape architects’ office into the public realm. the conversations sparked by this intervention contribute to increased awareness of ecological diversity. this tiny landscape, demonstrates how micro interventions can cumulatively add to the broader discourse on sustainability.”

jury citation “a clever response to the pressure urban renewal places on the available open space.” “it is a great example of a small project that will have a huge impact for existing and future residents. a project that can easily be applied to other similar situations”