This year the Beca Award for Placemaking has been won by Hastings District Council for its project ' A Place for Everyone'. Wellington City Council has also been highly commended in this category for its project 'The Pōneke Promise'.
Presented by Annette Jones, Senior Principal - Urban Design at Beca, this award recognises programmes or projects that shape or create a vibrant local economy, local culture or promote the achievement of positive social outcomes. Any project or programme in these areas may be entered, but its must be able to demonstrate it is transferrable to other local authorities.
Hastings District Council's 'A Place for Everyone' showcases the newly refurbished, reopened Hastings municipal centre. A stunning building in its own right, the centre forms an integral part of Toitoi, the city’s arts and event centre, and the entertainment and hospitality precinct.
The judges said "a significant project of scale that has retained the heritage building and provided a catalyst for further regeneration. The project build on a community connection to place and brought in mana whenua and local identity within the performing Arts to further contribute to place memory. This is the very essence of successful placemaking."
Wellington City Council has also been highly commended in this category for its project 'The Pōneke Promise'.
The Pōneke Promise is a joint initiative between key Wellington stakeholders from across local government and business. It is a combination of urban design, public space, safety works, and resourcing support intended to create a central city environment that is vibrant, inclusive, compassionate, and safe.
The judges said "this is an integrated, inclusive and comprehensive programme responding to a set of concerns that are endemic to literally every urban area in the country. The multi-faceted nature of the response is both transferable and easily adaptable to the needs of other communities. This entry also demonstrates that successful placemaking is about people, and not just ‘building things’, It is early days for this project – we look forward to hearing more of the progress Pōneke Promise has made."
This award's sponsor is Beca. Beca is one of the Asia-Pacific’s largest independent advisory, design and engineering consultancies. This is the second year they have sponsored this category.