At a gala event on Saturday night, the very best developments in WA were crowned at the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA WA) 2024 Awards for Excellence.
UDIA WA CEO Tanya Steinbeck said the quality of the award finalists and ultimate winners is testament to the dedication and hard work from an industry that continues to navigate a challenging market including high construction costs, skilled worker shortages and a critical housing supply shortage.
“Many of the projects honoured this evening have had to navigate ongoing challenges resulting from the pandemic,” Ms Steinbeck said. “Despite those challenges, the industry continues to deliver absolute quality, innovation and design excellence in building new and enhancing existing communities.”
“These awards showcase the ever-expanding diversity of housing and communities that the people of Western Australia get to call home,” Ms Steinbeck said.
For the first time, a Senior’s Living category winner also won the highest honour, with Curtin Heritage Living’s Cottesloe Redevelopment taking out the Russel Perry Award for Urban Development Excellence.
The Russel Perry Award is chosen out of all the winners on the night and the winning project reflects the very best urban development for 2024.
According to the Awards for Excellence judging panel, Curtin Heritage Living’s Cottesloe Redevelopment is a standout project, from the sensitive redevelopment of a heritage area, the bringing together of old and new buildings, to the seamless integration of new community amenity in the heart of Cottesloe, the project sets a new benchmark.
The site features Marine Views Cottesloe, a 128-suite state-of-the-art residential aged care home incorporating design and technology innovations from around the world, and Waterfront Cottesloe, which includes 76 luxurious independent living apartments with thoughtfully designed shared spaces.
“The Cottesloe Redevelopment is a standout for all the right reasons, with a design and execution that represents the care and attention to detail of the project team,” Ms Steinbeck said.
“Curtin Heritage Living have achieved a harmonious blend of seniors living, community integration, and heritage preservation within this outstanding project.”
In what can only be described as a new icon on the South Perth skyline, the magnificent Civic Heart by Finbar took home two awards on the night in the categories of Urban Renewal and Apartments (High Rise).
Civic Heart is Western Australia’s largest single stage strata development, comprising 309 apartments and 26 commercial tenancies. The project is a diverse mix of apartments and the heritage buildings of the former South Perth Police Station and Post Office.
Civic Heart has transformed a fragmented suburban block into a vibrant destination precinct.
“The Civic Heart development is a significant milestone for South Perth as it becomes a much more vibrant residential and commercial hub,” Ms Steinbeck said.
“The judges noted several challenges that were overcome by the development team, including the successful integration of heritage buildings, as well as addressing road frontages on all sides,” Ms Steinbeck said. “The project is testament to the hard work and dedication of the team at Finbar.”
Blackburne continued their successful run at the Awards for Excellence this year, with three projects securing award wins including The Grove Residences in the Design category; West Village in the Marketing category; and East Village in the Apartments (Mid Rise) category.
“Blackburne have cemented their reputation for delivering quality, medium and high-density living options targeted at downsizers in their respective local areas,” Ms Steinbeck said.
The judges were impressed by the quality design features of The Grove Residences, which include generous living spaces with abundant natural light and mature landscaping.
Residents in this luxury complex also enjoy extensive high-end common facilities including a large swimming pool, hot spa and cold plunge, gymnasium, sauna and steam rooms, billiards and media room and a sunset rooftop lounge.
At West Village in Karrinyup, the targeted marketing approach clearly resonated with their buyer demographic, with most interest coming from within a 15km radius of the site, underscoring the local community’s strong connection to the development.
The design of East Village, which is located on a challenging, linear site, has achieved an exceptional transition between the hard edge of the Karrinyup Shopping Centre and the surrounding low density residential housing.
That transition has been achieved through the introduction of a highly landscaped podium, facade articulation, and intelligent use of colour and material selection.
In a further win for the downsizer market, Dalkeith Terraces by Westbridge Urban won in the Boutique Development category.
The project was one of the first townhouse developments following the rezoning of land around the Dalkeith town centre and was guided by the principle of “downsizing not downgrading”.
Curtin University continued their winning streak, they backed up their award win last year by taking out the Social & Community Infrastructure award category in 2024 for their TL Robertson Library redevelopment.
The refurbishment project consolidated 7,000 linear metres of books and engrossed services into a new tower, releasing 2,000sqm that has been re-imagined into places for diverse research and study needs including areas for group discussion, presentations, as well as quiet zones for individual study.
Another library building, this time in Dardanup, was recognised in the Sustainability category, with the Shire of Dardanup’s new Library, Administration and Community Building taking top honours in that category.
The innovative project integrates advanced mass timber construction with cutting-edge, energy-efficient technologies.
The popular family friendly community Stockland Whiteman Edge by Stockland won in the Masterplanned Communities category. Stockland Whiteman Edge has established itself over the last decade as a popular, affordable and attractive lifestyle opportunity for a range of buyers.
In the Residential Subdivision category, Myella, Wanneroo by Satterley won for its focus on building a neighbourhood that facilitates wellbeing and creates a place where people can thrive.
Two Judges’ Awards were also bestowed on the night, one to Hesperia & Aegis Health for Murdoch Square and the second to Parcel Property for Kennedy Bay (Marketing).
Two new awards were also launched at the event – Team of the Year and Local Government of the Year with the Team of the Year award going to joint winners, Wormall Group and Erben for Cirque Duet.
Local Government of the Year went to the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale for their collaborative approach to advocacy and funding for infrastructure.
Individual winners on the night were Emma Colombera, Director of the Department of Treasury’s Housing Supply Unit for the Women in Leadership Award and Gia Barrington from Parcel Property won the Young Leaders Award.
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Available on request:
· Separate media releases for each winning project / team
· High res project images of each project
· High res images from the gala event