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Jeavons Landscape Architects are the winners of this year's Landscape award for the design of new green infrastructure along the Merri Creek corridor in Victoria.
The duplication of the railway track between Clifton Hill and Westgarth Stations was a key public transport initiative to improve Melbourne's public transport service, requiring a second rail bridge to be constructed over the Merri Creek (bridgework completed in 2009).
The project required the blending of technically challenging design with aesthetics while balancing high community expectations, including addressing the engineering and operational requirements for the railway and co-ordination with multiple authorities two local councils, Melbourne Water, and numerous road and rail authorities.
The design was based on scientific research by the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology and sought to recreate locally indigenous flora communities of similar species composition and structure to the original ecology. Over 48,000 local indigenous plants were installed.
The judges said: "Beginning in what has been a highly degraded...