The 2015 Lower Hunter Urban Design Awards (LHUDA) attracted hundreds of business and community leaders to the Newcastle Town Hall on 11 September to celebrate the 40th anniversary of these prestigious awards. The gala event this year had a Gatsby theme with many of the attendees dressing accordingly in period costume.

 

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, fondly known as, LHUDA.

 

As well as the five supporting local councils LHUDA is also supported by the Australian Institute of Architects, the Institute of Landscape Designers & Managers, Newcastle Master Builders Association, the Planning Association and the Property Council.

Due to the special nature of this year’s awards, it was decided to honour the last 40 years of winners by taking the top enduring urban designs and selecting a finalist list based on a new set of criteria that takes the longevity of a building in to consideration.

 

The judges had the difficult of selecting the following category winners from the impressive list of designs from across the Lower Hunter.