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Friday, 15 March 2013

Winners of the CAPITheticAL competition, a Centenary of Canberra project administered by the Australian Institute of Architects, were announced last night. The Australian Urban Design Research Centre (AUDRC)’s entry by Dr Julian Bolleter and Professor Richard Weller received a commendation.

The design ideas competition invited designers from a broad range of disciplines to review Canberra’s history and imagine how an Australian capital might be created in the 21st century. AUDRC’s stage 1 entry was selected as one of 20 shortlisted submissions to proceed to stage 2. In total 114, stage 1, entries were received from 24 countries.

According to the AUDRC entry rationale ‘Learning form the 20th century new cities needn’t be master‐planned utopias, rather, there could be a range of opportunities for urbanisation in the 21st century, each of them different and responsive to regional conditions. A pluralism of urban development should however be rationally and holistically enabled from a federal perspective.’

They proposed ‘a ‘New North’; a 21st century Australasian city, be appended to Darwin.’

From the jury comments ‘Stage 2 expanded the strategic concepts of Stage 1, by postulating the primary importance of high speed rail and high speed telecommunications in the development of three ‘Megaregions‘ - East Coast, West Coast, and New North. Existing Canberra would remain a lynch pin in a linked system of 25 new high speed rail stops along the east and west coasts. Each rail stop would become the catalyst for a new city.

The jury was struck by the scale of strategic thinking involved in stage 2 and in particular the impact of the submitted video and saw fit to award a Commendation and a $5000 prize.’

‘We are gratified to have received this recognition in relation to our research’ said Dr Julian Bolleter. ‘The submission was based on thinking expounded in our recent book Made in Australia: The Future of Australian Cities which was published earlier this year.’

Read more www.capithetical.com.au

Media references

Dr Julian Bolleter | +61 8 6318 6203
Laura Radovan | +61 8 6488 1859

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