Background to the Competition
In June 2019, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian unveiled 14 Premier’s Priorities which represent the NSW Government’s commitment to making a significant difference to enhance the quality of life of the people of NSW. One of these priorities is Greener Public Spaces which is to increase the proportion of homes in urban areas within 10 minutes’ walk of quality green, open and public space by 10 per cent by 2023.
The NSW Government including multiple public entities, has developed several programs and initiatives that have significantly increased the attention and awareness over the important role played by public spaces in everyone’s everyday life. Public spaces are all spaces publicly owned or for public use, without a profit motive, and include open spaces, streets and public facilities.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of public spaces in supporting the mental, physical and social wellbeing of communities. Whilst firmly establishing their popularity and value to our communities, the pandemic has also highlighted important issues around the capacity of public spaces, in particular, for social distancing.
An ideas competition will engage industry and the community on ideas to deliver new, better and more activated public space. This will raise the profile, understanding and importance of public spaces and how they can be delivered to benefit the community of NSW. This will contribute to achieving the Premier’s Priority through the objectives outlined below.
Objectives of the Competition
- To raise awareness, improve understanding and clarify the definition of the value of public space as including:
- Open spaces: active and passive, parks, gardens, playgrounds, public beaches, riverbanks and waterfronts, outdoor playing fields and courts, bushland)
- Public facilities: libraries, museums, galleries, civic/community centres, showgrounds and indoor public sports facilities
- Streets: streets, avenues, boulevards, squares and plazas, pavements, passages, lanes and bicycle paths.
- To reinforce the message that public space is everyone’s business recognising the positive social, health, cultural, environmental and economic benefits that public spaces provide.
- To highlight the value of public space as critical infrastructure, just as we value schools, hospitals, public transport, roads, etc.
- To challenge people to think differently about public space and, in doing so, unearth ideas about public space and its planning, funding, delivery and management that are creative, brave, collaborative and beyond business as usual.
- To engage people, raising their expectations and aspirations for public space as a catalyst for the delivery of better quality public space that is accessible to all, and meets the community’s needs.
- To challenge perceptions and encourage people to think differently about the quality of public spaces as a combination of physical form, activity and meaning (place attachment).
Award Categories
Award categories:
- Best Public Facility Idea
- Turning public facilities inside out and making them the heart of their community.
- Best Open Space Idea
- Identifying new open spaces and rediscovering underused open spaces
- Best Street Idea
- Reimagining streets including plazas as places for people.
- Best Temporary and/or Low Cost Public Space Idea
- Developing demonstration, pop-up or pilot projects that challenge traditional thinking about public spaces and placemaking.
- Best Resilient Public Space Idea
- Incorporating climate, safety, health, social and cultural considerations.
Additional awards:
- Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Award
- Awarded by the NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces for the best idea for furthering the achievement of the Premier’s Priority of Greener Public Spaces.
- Student Award
- Awarded by University Deans for the best submission from a tertiary education student
- Children and Young People Award
- Awarded by a youth judging panel for the best submission from children and young people aged 18 years or under.
- People’s Choice Award
- Awarded through a public voting program.
Jury
The following people have been confirmed for the jury panel:
- Abbie Galvin – NSW Government Architect
- Alice Rummery – Youth Representative
- Elizabeth Mossop – Professor of Landscape Architecture and Dean – Design, Architecture and Building, University of Technology Sydney
- Ethan Kent – Executive Director, PlacemakingX (USA)
- Helen Lochhead – Dean, Built Environment, University of New South Wales
- Henriette Vamberg – Partner and Managing Director, Gehl (Denmark)
- Kerry London – Dean, Built Environment, Western Sydney University
- Lindy Deitz – CEO, Campbelltown City Council
- Lisa Davies – Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald
- Robyn Dowling – Head of School and Dean – Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney
- Susan Lloyd Hurwitz – CEO and Managing Director, Mirvac
- Shaun Walsh – National President and Fellow, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects
- Wesley Enoch – Artistic Director, Sydney Festival
Rules and Conditions
| Partnership |
Committee for Sydney and NSW Government |
|---|---|
| Competition Website | |
| Time Zone |
NSW, Australia |
| Entry Restrictions |
Eligibility: This single stage competition is open to any natural person. No professional qualification is required for entry. Submissions can be made as individuals or teams. Faculty, students, and employees from organisations which are represented on the judging panel are permitted to enter, as long as the content of the work entered into the competition is developed without any involvement of the relevant judge on the panel. Judges will be required to disclose any conflicts of interest which affect their ability to impartially assess an entry and sign a statutory declaration that they have not been involved in the development of any entry from any student attending or person employed in their organisation. Ineligibility: Judging panel members, and their spouses/partners, along with members of the two organising committees including the stakeholder and project control groups of the competition. |
| Entry Method |
Each entry can be submitted through the competition website uploading files on the submission portal. Link to submission portal: https://sydney.org.au/psic/submit/ |
| Maximum Number of Entries |
There is no limit to the size of teams and multiple entries can be submitted. |
| Anonymous Entries |
Entries may be submitted and flagged as anonymous. Contact details for the entrant must still be supplied to organisers, but these will not be published or shared. |
| Use of Personal Information |
It is a condition of entry that each entrant will be required to consent to the collection by Committee for Sydney, use and disclosure of their personal information (including sharing personal information with the competition sponsors) for the following purposes:
It will be made clear to entrants on the entry form that their broad consent also covers but is not limited to specific consent for their name and contact details to be disclosed to third party(s) named here only for the purpose of conducting the Competition and/or enabling the realisation of the competition benefits (name third party(s) and include link to the third party’s privacy statement). |
| Privacy Laws |
Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 No 133 |
| Privacy Policy | |
| Privacy Contact Details |
Committee for Sydney |
| Use of Competition Entry |
The author of an entry retains the copyright to their nomination. Notwithstanding this, each entrant grants Committee for Sydney and NSW Government a non-exclusive, fee-free, royalty-free, perpetual, world-wide, irrevocable, transferrable and sub-licensable licence to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish and display their entry (including Content) for the following purposes: a) to promote and publicise the competition, its winners and winning entries; Usage, except in circumstances of anonymous entries, will be appropriately attributed. |
| Judging Details |
The shortlisting and judging process will occur in September 2020. No budgetary limit is imposed. Following the short listing and final judging process, the Jury will provide a written report to Committee for Sydney and NSW Government. The rationale for the jury’s decisions will be set out in this report and signed by all jurors. The report will be made available to Committee for Sydney and NSW Government prior to the public announcement of the winners. |
| Benefits for the Winners |
Winners will be awarded with commemorative certificates and be recognised in the publication, on the competition website and at the awards night held during The Festival of Place. |
| Winner Notification |
Winners will be announced by the jury at the awards night during The Festival of Place in October 2020. Details about the awards night will be confirmed closer to the time and will be in accordance with any COVID-19 social distancing requirements, if applicable at the time. |
| Winner Certificate |
Each winner will be awarded with a certificate during the awards night. |
| Submission Storage |
|
Key Dates
| Entries Open |
Monday 20th July 2020 |
|---|---|
| Entries Close |
11:59pm Sunday 30th August 2020 |
| Exhibition |
October 2020 |
| Winners |
Announcements made during The Festival of Place in October 2020 |
| Launch of a publication of winning entries |
November 2020 |
Submission Template
Submission requirements will be the same for all the award categories identified by each entrant. Submissions must provide the following information, either uploading text and one image, or, uploading the InDesign template provided to the Submission Portal. Hard copy entries will not be accepted. Entries must include the following information:
- Entry title
- Entry sub-heading (max. 15 words)
- Entry description (max. 250 words) including a brief description of the project and response to the following questions:
- How will your idea create a better life for Sydneysiders?
- How does your idea deliver great public space?
- How is your idea transformational?
- Entry image (3,500 x 2,500 pixels, 300dpi, max. 15MB) such as one high quality rendering, drawing or sketch;
OR - One A1 panel formatted to include the above information using the InDesign template provided.