“Earthquake Cities on the Pacific Rim”, a series of interlinked essays that describe findings of research work into the relationship between spatial structure and resilience, has earned Penny Allan and Martin Bryant the Charlie Challenger Supreme Award for landscape architecture planning. The award was conferred at the NZILA Resene Pride of Place Landscape Architecture Awards, held at the Auckland Art Gallery on 8 April. In compiling the writings, sais teh NZILA’s judges, Allan and Bryant undertook an extraordinary amount of work across in four continents around the Pacific Rim, over a period of five years, to research community uses of open space in the aftermath of earthquakes. 

The resulting four essays have been published separately in the Journal of Landscape Architecture, International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Journal of Urban Design, and a book chapter being edited by Viktorija Zgela, entitled “Approaches to Disaster Management – Examining the Implications of Hazards, Emergencies and Disasters”.

The NZILA’s judges were full of praise at how this work positions the landscape architecture profession. “This work puts landscape architecture at the forefront of disaster planning and management, investigating how the community relies on open space to take an important role in the process of recovery and underscores its potential to enhance resilience. The combined body of research also looks at different resilience attributes, their relationship with spatial morphologies, and  innovation in open space design, which in turn influences community and social well-being.

“As a result the work provides a very significant contribution to landscape planning, research and sustainability, and provides creative ideas and solutions to complex urban issues. It also very effectively raises awareness of the profession of landscape architecture to an audience beyond landscape architects and beyond New Zealand.”   

In the jury’s citation for the Award of Excellence, it was noted that, “This work represents cutting edge research in the field of landscape architecture, sustainability, and urban design. It is an outstanding example of the relevance of landscape architecture to disaster management and recovery and is expected to be of national and international interest. Combining theoretical and practical field research, the multiple opportunities that landscape architecture offers is expertly explored and demonstrated.”

Penny Allan is an associate professor at the Victoria University of Wellington School of Landscape Architecture. Martin Bryant is a senior lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington and director at Wraight + Associates.