40th anniversary LHUDA Awards

2014 Award Winner - 35 Carrington

The Lower Hunter Urban Design Awards will be celebrating its 40th anniversary with a Great Gatsby themed gala dinner on 11 September at Newcastle City Hall.

The Newcastle ‘Civic Design’ Awards were introduced through Newcastle City Council in 1975 as an initiative of Newcastle’s first City Planner, Bob James. Through this initiative, the Council aimed to raise the bar for urban design in the city.

In the mid-1990s, the four other Lower Hunter Councils of Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock and Port Stephens joined Newcastle in promoting quality urban design. It was then renamed the Lower Hunter Urban Design Awards, or LHUDA for short.

Now, the Lower Hunter Urban Design Awards are known as one of the most prestigious award for civic and building design in the region. Nominees for 2015 will be taken from the pool of winners from the last 40 years. As well as the official LHUDA Awards Dinner at the Newcastle Town Hall, each council hosted a launch in their area to promote their municipality nominees.

There are a number of categories to be considered for an award:

• The Award for Excellence in Urban Design is awarded to an overall winner for excellence in urban design. The winner is chosen by the jury from all nominations in the all categories.

• The GHD Small Scale Development Award is awarded to smaller scale, non-residential developments. The award is honour of Charles Davis, a past President of Newcastle Master Builders’ Association and the National Master Builders’ Association who was involved in the construction of many landmark buildings in Newcastle and the Hunter including Newcastle City Hall and the AMP building.

• The Graph Building Heritage Award was introduced in 1982, for developments incorporating the conservation, preservation and rehabilitation of a building or place of cultural, historical or architectural significance.

• The Landscape Design & Public Art Award is in honour of Alfred Sharp (1835 – 1908), Landscape Architect, Artist, Environmentalist and Park Designer. The category is for urban design including landscape and subdivision development in the open category and designs demonstrating integration of the built and natural environment.

• The GHD Large Scale Development Award is awarded to large scale, non-residential developments. The Award is in honour of Henry Dangar (1796 -1861), Surveyor, Explorer and Pastoralist.

• The De Witt Consulting Residential Awards (Single and Multiple) is awarded to residential development in two categories: Category 1 – Single Dwellings no more than three storeys; Category 2 – Multiple Dwellings. These Awards are in honour of Bill Hudson, Past President, Trustee and Life Member of Newcastle Master Builders’ Association and one of the founders of the Awards and also Frederick Bernhard Menkens, a renowned architect who designed over 100 buildings including St Andrews Presbyterian Church, Newcastle and St Josephs Convent, Lochinvar.

• The Sustainable Development Award is awarded to residential and non-residential developments displaying the principles of environmentally sustainable development including resource recovery, waste minimisation and energy efficiency.

• The MBA Group Training & Personnel Peoples’ Choice Award is voted on by the public, through displays at each Council and also at the Newcastle Home Show. Votes are tallied from each nomination and awarded on the presentation night.

• The Scooters & Mobility Special Mention for Universal Access Award is considered across all nominations and awarded to the project that has considered greatly the impact of access and participation by those with a disability.

• The Hunter Development Corporation Student Concept Prizes are open for TAFE and University students to enter and provide innovative design solutions for existing urban areas. Up to $2000 in prize money is up for grabs

For further information visit www.lhuda.com.au