Landscapes of Distinction Awards

Two South Island projects were recognised at the 2022 Landscapes of Distinction Awards.

Te Raekura Redcliffs School was awarded Best Design Project of the Year, and also earned a Gold Medal for Landscape Design

Te Raekura Redcliffs School is an exciting new primary school located on the edge of Te Ihutai / Christchurch estuary and adjacent to Te-Ana-o-Hineraki / Moa Bone Point Cave. The landscape design responds to the site context with clear physical and visual connections between cave and coast.

The design provides an activated landscape for play and learning, and the multi-layered landscape creates diverse and unexpected playscapes and opportunities to engage with the site. The spatial arrangement creates at its centre a sheltered heart to protect and nurture occupants from the cold north-easterly wind.

Separate sports and play spaces have been developed for the Junior and Senior Schools including natural play areas, school edible gardens and outdoor performance spaces. Custom play elements include a suspended net with cave like run-through underneath, colourful cubby holes for quieter play, and using slides and a fireman’s pole to allow kids to transition the different levels in a playful way. Landscape materials and plant selections reflect the character of the coastal environment.

The project team from (then) Canopy Landscape Architects worked together with Tennent Brown Architects on this project. The school won the Supreme Award at the 2021 NZ Commercial Project Awards.

A lushly planted small urban garden to complement a contemporary new house in Lyttelton, Christchurch was awarded a Gold Medal in Landscape Design. The garden provides a range of outdoor living and garden spaces across the terraced site including a breakfast terrace, large deck and no-mow lawn nestled into thick planting. Views out to Lyttelton Port and harbour are celebrated while cedar boundary screens maintain privacy from the adjacent properties. The garden is a restful and relaxing refuge.

The garden has been designed with sustainability in mind. Permeable paving solutions have been used throughout the garden reducing need for stormwater drainage, providing natural irrigation, recharging of groundwater. Native groundcovers are used as a ‘no-mow; lawn, reducing maintenance. The mixed planting includes flowering plants to provide food for bees and other insects. The raised water feature provides the calming sound of water and attracts birdlife into the garden; it has a shelf with rocks deliberately included to provide a perch for birds to drink and bathe. A small raised garden planter provides the client space to grow her own herbs, salads and citrus plants.

Sculptural elements provide humour while an outdoor audio system and garden lighting make the spaces a great place for entertaining friends and family in the evening.

Both projects were undertaken and entered into the competition by the design team from Canopy Landscape Architects. The award-winning landscape architecture and landscape planning company, which had offices in Nelson and Christchurch, integrated into Boffa Miskell’s inter-disciplinary design practice in June of 2022.