GOLD AWARD: RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPE CONSTRUCTION $75,000 - $150,000
At the recent Landscaping Victoria Industry Awards, we were presented Gold in the category of Residential Landscape Construction $75,000 - $150,000. The design completed by Studio Alba, included a small central swimming pool, a pool pavilion with closed in back wall featuring a mix of concrete render & stone cladding, outdoor kitchen & at the other end of the pool a small grass area & extended paved area around the side.
A custom curved black powder coated steel rod pool fence was also installed to separate the pool area from the alfresco. The same curve of the pool was referenced for the pool fence.
The fully tiled swimming pool complimented by the beautiful light Alba granite crazy paving around the pool for the expanse of the pool area only, then contrasting to a large format Cinza limestone paving for the remaining solid area.
For the pavilion we concealed the 5-degree colorbond traydeck roof with a 3 sided raised parapet wall clad in cement sheeting painted black, then clad on top with vertical hardwood timber battens for feature.
For the remainder of the pool fence on the pool terrace we installed a frameless glass barrier with a gate at either end & feature black aluminum pool fencing through the garden bed sections.
We then framed the border of the 2 exposed sides of the boundary with pleached waterhousia tree planting, a feature crepe myrtle tree at either end of the garden bed & underplanting with a mix of westringia spheres, arthropodiums & lambs ears. The end result a stunning & functional backyard equipped for all year round use.
Celebrating Excellence: Three New Awards
The annual Landscaping Victoria industry awards were held on Saturday 28th October at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event celebrates the industry’s year of achievement in landscaping, recognising outstanding achievements in design, construction, and maintenance by member businesses. The award categories span from courtyard design to sustainable landscapes, encompassing a diverse range of projects. Whether compact or on a larger scale, all projects exemplify excellent design and stand as a testament to construction excellence. This year, our commitment to excellence has been recognized in landscaping construction, marking a significant milestone in our journey.
It is with immense pride that we share our recent achievements.
- Gold in Hard Structures in the Landscape
- Gold in Residential Landscape Construction $75,000 - $150,000
- Silver in Residential Landscape Construction $75,000 - $150,000
Excellence in construction is not just about laying pavers, planting trees, or installing water features. It's about understanding the unique vision of each client and bringing it to life. The dedication of our entire team, from designers to construction crew, has been instrumental in receiving these awards.
Landscape construction is very much a collaborative effort, and it's the skill, passion, and unwavering commitment of designers, project managers, and labourers that have made these accolades possible.
These awards not only validate our efforts but also serve as an inspiration for us to continue shaping outdoor spaces that bring joy and tranquillity to our clients' lives. As we celebrate these awards, we're also mindful of the responsibility that comes with them. The expectations are higher, but so is our determination to continue pushing the boundaries of excellence in landscaping. We look forward to more exciting projects, more satisfied clients, and, hopefully, more awards in the future.
- Gold in Hard Structures in the Landscape
- Gold in Residential Landscape Construction $75,000 - $150,000
- Silver in Residential Landscape Construction $75,000 - $150,000
GOLD AWARD: HARD STRUCTURES IN THE LANDSCAPE
At this year’s Landscaping Victoria Industry Awards, our Ripponlea project won Gold in the category of Hard Structures in the Landscape.
We completed this project late 2022 for Kate Seddon Landscape Design. The new landscape we created consisted of many different detailed hard landscape elements, all beautifully softened by a lush, textured planting palette. As you enter you are welcomed with a sweeping crazy paved path with adjacent curved rendered masonry retaining wall to your right & vibrant planting to your left intertwining through our custom-made spotted gum timber & copper rail pool fence.
This path then opens to a grand entrance to the home with crazy paved curved stairs leading to an expansive paved porch. Turning around you get a view of the central feature of the project, the kidney shaped pool & spa, framed by the hero of the project, the lengthy & sweeping pool fence. As you enter the pool terrace through our custom-made pool gate, you are greeted with a generous space of Castlemaine crazy paving that we continued into the pool on the stairs & seat treads, floor of the spa & spillover into the pool. Attention to detail was of the highest quality in this space, all wonderfully surrounded by colorful & textured planting.
In total we laid over 140m2 of detailed Castlemaine crazy paving, 543 trees & plants & 43 feature garden lights in what was a beautiful & functional new landscape all of which executed to the highest of standards.
Judge's Comments:
"With such complex curves and challenges on this project, Landart have delivered a seamless finish from the ground up. Paving patterns, grout joins and finishes were exceptional. The clever idea to have the paving slab engineered to avoid a caulking gap along the pool shell was a wonderful addition showing no signs of movement or cracking. The use of caulking joints, when required, displayed fantastic consistency in thickness, neatness and were well considered. The timber pool fence has been designed to regulate the 'sagging' often displayed with the movement of natural timber slats. Building this fence on site illustrates the thought that went into its construction and the remarkable workmanship shown overall by the Landart team."
The Front Garden Podcast
Hosted by Landscaping Victoria Members, Tyson Owen and Chris Weiss - The Front Garden is a podcast covering the latest in landscaping news, trends & stories.
Currently in it’s sixth consecutive season, the podcast has been host to some of the industry’s best landscaping minds, including our director, Simon.
Chris and Tyson spoke with Simon about pivoting from graphic design to landscaping after completing Year 12 and discussed how Simon got his start with Scott Wynd from TLC Pools. Simon also shares his experience in competitive show garden builds, along with how he's expanded his pipeline of landscaping projects through his pool business, Striking Pools.
Further to that, Simon provides a great insight into the structure of his 2 businesses Landart Landscapes & Striking Pools, and how they are managed from the top down along with all of the cloud-based software used to run them efficiently.
Be sure to have a listen to the episode.
THE BACKYARD & GARDEN SHOW 2022
The annual Backyard & Garden Show is the ultimate destination for anyone looking to renovate or transform their outdoor environment. This year the show was coupled with The Pool & Spa Show run by the Master Pool Builders Association. The show involves a host of exhibitors and industry experts offering an extensive and diverse range of gardening & landscaping products, landscaping services and design ideas.
Each year, several exhibitors are approached to showcase a feature garden at the event, and this year we were offered to design and install the major show garden, sized at 135sqm.
The design brief for the major show garden was to create a peaceful, low maintenance, family friendly space that encourages the use of the outdoors. We wanted our design to engage and inspire those at the show, so we incorporated popular elements like an alfresco area, swimming pool, garden bench and lawn, all of which was surrounded by dense, lush foliage.
Entering the garden from the front, you were met with two large paved floating Cinza Limestone steppers, laid in a 45 degree herringbone format. These took you to the main alfresco area, constructed in a composite decking, which facilitated outdoor dining. It featured a curved floating BBQ bench in a thick grey insitu concrete-look bench top with stainless steel BBQ, attached to a raised feature wall & planter, clad with long silver travertine.
Overhead was a custom powder-coated steel arbor in a beautiful Eucalypt colour, with adjoining custom steel pergola finished with 40mm hardwood timber battens. The pergola beam had seven tensioned stainless steel wires installed vertically down into the raised planter, for star jasmine to train upon.
Noticeably, our show garden featured a stunning L shaped swimming pool with a curved edge. The pool was fully tiled throughout the interior and outer face in a 20mm Peacock blend glass mosaic tile. We installed three custom steel water feature spouts in the same Eucalypt powder-coat as the arbor, which aligned with three floating effect Cinza limestone pavers spaced evenly, to create access from the alfresco area to the remainder of the garden.
The Cinza limestone pavers continued to run evenly spaced down the length of the garden, with three noticeably cut to curve around the round custom fabricated steel planter box. Between the garden path and the pool, was a Cinza limestone paved terrace, laid in the 45 degree herringbone pattern.
The Cinza is a beautiful contrast against the Peacock pool tile, while the herringbone makes for a unique and high quality finish for the poolside space. To help people fully envision the all-encompassing design, we utilised the area by placing two reclinable sunlounges.
As you make your way out passed the pool terrace, you’re met with artificial lawn to your right, which was also installed between the steppers, and to your left a salt & pepper gravel patch with bench seat. The bench seat has three custom fabricated steel legs to replicate the steel arbor, and the same 40mm hardwood timber battens on top. As an added feature, we included a white dome outdoor heat lamp which not only provides an element of warmth when outdoors, but a great aesthetic. To finish, we surrounded the entire show garden with dense, lush foliage, with a final two Cinza limestone pavers installed in the foliage, to act as another entry and exit point.
Conveniently situated adjacent to our stand and the seminar stage, the major show garden had an incredible amount of foot traffic. Of the 8,000 people that attended the show over the two days, most would have walked by our installation, generating a significant amount of enquiry. It was truly wonderful to receive such positive feedback on our design, and to meet everyone who stopped by to say hello.
We not only wanted our show garden to demonstrate the high quality construction work that our team execute daily across all of our projects, but we wanted to emphasise the detailed design process that clients receive with Landart Landscapes. Therefore, we had the entire design process for our show garden printed and readily available for people to look through. It included the Master Plan through to 3D rendering, and everything in between such as lighting and planting plans, even material palettes.
Best Residential Construction Over $250,000
2021 Landscaping Victoria industry awards were held virtually this year, and we are beyond thrilled to have been awarded Best Residential Construction over $250,000 for our Berwick project.
The Victorian Landscape Awards recognise excellence across design, construction and maintenance by Member businesses who must impress the judges with not only their trade skills, but their business acumen through successful project delivery. The categories run the scope from courtyard design to sustainable landscapes. Some projects are compact, others of larger scale, but all exemplify good design and are a testament to construction excellence.
Out From The Blue designed this epic project and installed the swimming pool, while we took on the construction. From the front entrance and down the south-east sideway, to the pool area and al-fresco, we executed all aspects of the hard & soft landscape construction to the highest of standards, with every detail meticulously thought through, resulting in the award and industry recognition.
Following the Landscaping Victoria awards, our award-winning Berwick project was featured in multiple publications, including Outdoor Design’s 42nd Edition and Earthstyle’s Spring/Summer Issue.
The magazines, both published to coincide with the annual landscaping industry awards, showcase our country’s finest landscaping professionals and provide a tantalising taste of the diverse gardens they produce. It was extremely exciting and rewarding to be featured amongst the leading landscapers in the nation with our Berwick project.
The project involved many different areas, consisting of various & detailed hard landscape, all of which was softened beautifully by lush dense planting throughout. In total we laid over 210m2 of detailed paving & cladding, 125m2 of decorative exposed aggregate, installed 57 mature trees, 750 shrubs, grasses & groundcovers & installed 105 garden lights.
A massive shoutout and shared congratulations to Out From The Blue, with many thanks extending to all subcontractors and suppliers involved in the project.
We are proud to be members of Landscaping Victoria Master Landscapers and are very grateful for this award.
View our Berwick project here.
