Lawrence Nield and Lucy Turnbull honoured at Australian Institute of Architects awards

By Andrea Dixon
Thursday, 22 March 2012

Sydney Architect Lawrence Nield was honoured with the Australian Institute of Architects prestigious Gold Medal in Adelaide last night.

Neild (pictured left) – who was the head of master planning for the Sydney 2000 Olympics – has worked on projects in New Zealand, Greece, China, Vietnam, France, Italy and the UK.

He is well known for his design of sports centres, hospitals and educational buildings, his academic work at both the University of Sydney and the University of NSW as well as his broad writings on urban design.

His newest award will join a Sir Zelman Cowan Award for Public Buildings, which he won in 1997 for the University of the Sunshine Coast Library, a Sulman Award and an RIBA Award. Nield retired from Sydney firm BVN Architecture several years ago but is rarely far from the industry.

The AIA’s national presidential Brian Zulaikha says: “Lawrence’s local work uses a broad and principled approach to architecture that reveals an uncommon understanding of our history, the arts and other intellectual achievements”.

The AIA also awarded former Sydney lord mayor and long-time urban design activist Lucy Turnbull with the President’s Award for her contribution to the advancement of architecture.

“It gives me much pride, both professionally and personally, to be able to recognise Lucy’s contribution to the Institute, but also to architecture and design more generally,” says Zulaikha.

Turnbull (pictured right) wrote the book Sydney - Biography of a City and in 2008 was Commissioner of the Australian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Among her many board positions, she is deputy chairwoman of the Committee for Sydney, was appointed to the Cities Expert Panel, and in January last year she was appointed officer of the Order of Australia.

The Best Emerging Architect Award was presented to Western’s Australia’s Kelly Rattigan, while Robert Adams from the City of Melbourne won the Leadership in Sustainability Award.