Jezzine Barracks has been widely recognised as an award winning redevelopment from state to national level, most recently taking out the ‘Great Place’ Planning Institute of Australia award. Now it has reached international acclaim, announced as an award winning project in the Walking Visionaries awards – Planning & Design for Liveable Public Spaces.
The awards are part of the international Walk21 conference program. Held in Vienna in October, the conference is expected to draw over 700 delegates from around the world to develop ideas and strategies to promote environments where people choose to walk. As part of the conference the Walking Visionary award winning projects will be showcased to generate new ideas for fulfilling the potential of walking for liveable communities.
Wal Smith, Director of Place Design Group and Project Landscape Architect for Jezzine Barracks said, “It is a great honour to see the project be voted in as award winner in the Planning and Design for Livable Public Spaces category of the Walking Visionaries Awards. Jezzine Barracks has made a great impact on the recreational options available to the people of Townsville, who take every opportunity to recreate along our magnificent foreshore.
“We are very grateful to all the people who got behind this project and particularly the organizations and citizens of Townsville who showed pride in their city, and in particular the Jezzine Barracks project, by voting and enabling us to win this prestigious international award.”
Jezzine Barracks is a natural extension of the recreational activities of Townsville and plays a pivotal role in tourism growth and historic remembrance for the area. With joint funding from the Commonwealth of Australia, Queensland Government and Townsville City Council, the parkland development has transformed the 15ha site which was previously home to 31st Battalion for over 120 years, and local traditional owner clans before.
Jezzine Barracks fills a missing link enabling a 10.2km connection between Townsville’s CBD, The Strand and suburbs of Rowes Bay and Palleranda. This link improves the city’s walkability and provides visitors opportunities to take in views over the Coral Sea. The accessibility of the steeply undulating site is another key factor in its success, with 99% of all site features accessible to people with disabilities.
For the full list of award categories and winners visit http://walk21vienna.com/visionaries/awards-winners/.
