The winners of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (SA) Awards for Excellence were announced at the annual UDIA Awards Gala dinner at Adelaide Convention Centre.

The UDIA Awards for Excellence celebrate and showcase the best of the best across industries including planning, engineering, landscaping, architecture and marketing, and their contribution to liveability and growth in the State.

Three industry professionals were celebrated for their leadership in urban development, while ten developments and projects across both the private and public sectors were celebrated as the State’s most innovative and cutting edge.

Pat Gerace, UDIA SA Chief Executive Officer said, “This year we saw an array of exceptional projects and contributions across the development sector”.

The coveted Project of the Year Award was presented to Palumbo for their passion and dedication in creating Adelaide’s newest luxury hotel, the Sofitel Adelaide, which also claimed the Design Excellence Award.

“The development of a five-star hotel in South Australia hasn’t been seen for decades — not to mention being built to an international standard by a wholly South Australian company,” said Gerace.

SA Water won both Social and Community Infrastructure and the Environmental Excellence Awards for their opening up of reservoirs and surrounding reserves for public recreational use.

Of the win, Gerace said, “It took someone brave enough to question old thinking about locking away these vast open spaces and having the vision to transform them into what are now highly valued community assets.”

“We encourage being brave and making decisions to do something different — it’s often hard and comes with challenges, but the end result proves that it’s worth it.”

Lanser Communities took home the Masterplanned Development Award for Miravale, a boutique community in the heart of Angle Vale.

“Developers put every effort into creating exceptional open spaces and amenities such as playgrounds that bring the people living in masterplanned developers together — which in turn helps shape the community,” Gerace said.

“The amenity, infrastructure and greening in these new developments often far and away exceeds that in Adelaide’s many existing suburbs and it’s important that we recognise this and celebrate these fantastic outcomes.”

Individuals were also awarded for their contribution to the State’s built environment.

The Women in Leadership Award was awarded to Anita Allen, associate director at URPS. She was recognised for her long-term contributions to the South Australian urban development sector – in particular, the transformational projects she has led for the State’s planning system and reforms.

The Stuart Main Young Professional Award was presented to Kent Williams, founder and director of FUSION Property Development, with the win acknowledging his drive, vision and commitment to delivering quality projects.

The Greg Waller Award, nominated by the UDIA SA’s Executive Council, was won by Stephen Jolly of SA Power Networks.

UDIA’s Gerace said the calibre of entries continued to “push the boundaries and exceed the judges’ expectations.”

“From providing access to community spaces such as reservoirs, to development of quality affordable housing for those most in need, to the marketing of what are set to be Adelaide’s premier destinations in the future — entries in the awards demonstrate valuable contributions to the growth of our state.”

Eligible winners in selected Award categories will go on to represent South Australia at the UDIA National Awards for Excellence, to be held in Perth in 2023.

Individual and company award winners

• WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
  Anita Allen — URPS
• STUART MAIN YOUNG PROFESSIONAL AWARD
  Kent Williams — FUSION Property Developments
• GREG WALLER AWARD (PUBLIC SECTOR EXCELLENCE)
  Stephen Jolly — SA Power Networks
• DIVERSITY IN DEVELOPMENT
  Renewal SA

Project Award Category Winners

• PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD
  Palumbo — Sofitel Adelaide
• AFFORDABLE DEVELOPMENT
  Otello Projects — Daly St
• DESIGN EXCELLENCE
  Palumbo — Sofitel Adelaide
• ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE
  SA Water — Activating reservoir reserves for healthy communities
• HIGH-DENSITY HOUSING
  Forme Projex — Hurtle&Co. Stage 04
• MARKETING EXCELLENCE
  18^th Street and Commercial & General — Eighty Eight O’Connell
• MASTERPLANNED DEVELOPMENT
  Lanser Communities — Miravale
• MEDIUM-DENSITY HOUSING
  Commercial & General — Ocea at WEST
• PROFESSIONAL CONSULTING
  GREENHILL — Tonsley Village
• RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
  Lanser Communities — Clover Park
• SMALL SCALE DEVELOPMENT
  UnitingSA Housing — Ferryden Park
• SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE
  SA Water — Activating reservoir reserves for healthy communities
• AGED CARE AND COMMUNITY HOUSING
  UnitingSA Housing — Ferryden Park

Highly Commended

• DESIGN EXCELLENCE
  Commercial & General — WEST Library, Community Hub and Medical Centre
• URBAN RENEWAL
  Petros Group — Nottingham Terraces

The awards are supported by the following sponsors:

Major sponsor — nbn Australia

Category sponsors — Alexander Symonds, Algo Mas, Fyfe, Holmes Dyer, InDaily, Land Services SA, nbn Australia, Oliver Hume, Renewal SA, SA Water, Water Sensitive SA, Whittles