Sunburnt: Australian Practices of Landscape Architecture (Award of Excellence in Landscape Architecture Research and Communication)

RESEARCH BACKGROUND The Sunburnt exhibition is the first of its kind, a curated exhibition of contemporary landscape architecture projects from a national perspective. Five of the Australian states and one of its territories were represented through 17 projects. The exhibition demonstrates what the profession of landscape architecture is, what it does, and what its impact is on our public realm. It is an exploration and celebration of contemporary landscape architecture and its directions for the future. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION Sunburnt examined spatial and material qualities that defined the Australian landscape through the lens of landscape architecture. The curatorial framework was structured around provocative projects, to provoke different ways of thinking about landscape architectural practice and discourse in Australia beyond the mythologies both of the Australian landscape and of its particular urbanism. Exhibited works explored issues of sustainability, social responsibility, and enduring nature, in ways which are unique to Australia. The exhibition highlighted how landscape architecture in Australia leads the profession in creating resilient landscapes which endure and thrive in our diverse climatic conditions. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE The exhibition was held in the premier national design gallery, the Gallery for Australian Design in Canberra. Sunburnt was reviewed in the May 2010 issue of Landscape Australia by Professor Leon van Schaik, and won the 2010 AILA Award of Excellence for Research and Communication.