Dear Subscriber,

As the year progresses, we’re seeing strong momentum across projects, thought leadership and industry engagement. This edition highlights the Boyne Tannum Aquatic Centre and insights from recent conferences, alongside new articles exploring urban heat, planting and evolving approaches to correctional design, all reflecting our ongoing focus on evidence-informed, community-centred outcomes.

Until next time!

Kavan, Phil, and Craig

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Breaking Ground - Boyne Tannum Aquatic Centre

The Boyne Tannum Aquatic Centre, currently commencing construction for Gladstone Regional Council, is a major new regional facility designed as a vibrant, inclusive destination for community, sport and recreation. The project brings together a FINA-compliant 50-metre heated pool, gym, multipurpose spaces and spectator amenities with a richly integrated landscape that includes a maritime-themed playground, picnic areas and shaded gathering spaces.

Designed through close collaboration across architecture and landscape, the facility prioritises accessibility, climate-responsive design and strong connections to local identity. The project creates a safe, welcoming and family-friendly environment that supports year-round use and reflects the values of the Boyne Tannum community.

ARTICLE

The 1% Things: Why Small Design Decisions Matter in Correctional Design

In conversations about the future of correctional environments, attention often gravitates towards large scale reform: new facilities, major capital works, whole of system change. These conversations are important, but they can also obscure a quieter truth.

Real change does not always start with big moves. Often, it starts with the small, deliberate design decisions that shape daily experience. This was the central premise of “The 1% Things: Why Small Design Decisions Matter More Than We Think”, presented by Director, Kavan Applegate and co-authored by Associate Director Craig Blewitt, at the Prison Design and Technology Conference (PDTC) 2026 in Rabat, Morocco.

The session resonated strongly not because it promised sweeping transformation, but because it focused on what is practical, achievable, and immediately impactful within the realities of existing correctional systems and limited budgets.

Read more >

ARTICLE

Cooling Our Cities: Why Planting Matters in Urban Environments

As cities continue to grow and densify, they are facing an increasingly urgent challenge: heat. Urban areas are consistently warmer than their surrounding rural landscapes, a phenomenon known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect.

In the context of climate change, this excess heat is no longer just uncomfortable, it poses real risks to public health, infrastructure, and urban liveability. One of the most effective, low tech, and multi benefit solutions is also one of the simplest: planting and vegetation.

Read more >

ARTICLE

Designing Better Prison Landscapes for Wellbeing

Nature has a profound impact on human rehabilitation and mental health. Yet, bringing green spaces into high-security environments presents a unique set of challenges. Planners, architects, and landscape architects constantly face a difficult question: What should green spaces in prisons be like?

A groundbreaking new publication seeks to answer exactly that. Design Principles for Prison Landscapes: Security, Biodiversity and Wellbeing by Emma Widdop, Dominique Moran, and Jonathan Sadler offers a universal and comprehensive look into the future of correctional facility design. Published by the University of Birmingham, this essential guide bridges the gap between strict security requirements and the human need for nature.

Discover the core themes of this publication and our team's direct involvement in shaping its insights.

Read more >

NEWS / EVENTS

LEA 2026 UNLEASH Conference

Associate and Studio Education Lead, Patrick Giles, attended this year’s Learning Environments Australasia UNLEASH Conference in Perth. The conference explored how we can challenge convention and co-create the future of learning environments, making it a great opportunity to see how design thinking is evolving across education.

Some insightful takeaways Patrick brought back from the keynotes and workshops included:

• Education is regenerative. It is not only a force for positive evolutionary change, but as a tool to cultivate individuals and communities who can thrive and contribute to a complex world.

• Creating together is the foundation to shape successful learning, and it takes a village to both establish new school narratives, and to visualise beyond what has come before.

• Learning is a shared and evolving ecosystem that mirrors both the development of students, and the evolving vision of their learning environment – both must exist to support the other in order to flourish.

NEWS / EVENTS

Regenerative Placemaking Masterclass

Principal Landscape Architect, Marian Long, attended the Regenerative Placemaking Masterclass hosted by Village Well in Brisbane. The one-day masterclass brought together global and local voices in placemaking and explored how a place-led, data-driven systems approach can be applied to the planning, design and management of places, with a focus on shaping future directions across policy, investment and urban development.

Some insightful takeaways Marian brought back from the day included:

• Regenerative placemaking applies a holistic, place-led approach that strengthens local assets while empowering communities.  

• Moving beyond ‘business as usual’ is critical to creating healthier, more vibrant and resilient communities.

• Landscape is a critical connector, linking ecological systems, community use and cultural identity to support more resilient and adaptive places.

• Place-led design requires working with existing natural systems, strengthening local assets and embedding them into the public realm.

• Successful public spaces are shaped through co-design and ongoing stewardship, supporting social connection and long-term place value.