Landscape planning and architecture will be in focus, as the eyes of the world are turned on China’s capital, Beijing, in August this year, when nations compete for Olympic awards.

As hosts to world nations, China has put together a huge jig-saw of planning decisions designed to meet the needs of thousands of competitors, officials and spectators.
One of the key pieces in the mammoth planning exercise for the Olympic Games - Olympic Forest Park - has won an award from the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).
The Forest Park covers 680 hectares and has been designated the “green link to the Olympics”. As Beijing’s largest green space, it is an ecological buffer to the pollution of the Chinese capital.
During the Olympic Games the tennis, archery and hockey events will be staged in the park, which will fill the role of a “back garden” for the Games.
The Forest Park includes two “show pieces” of the Olympics - the National Stadium, (also known as the Birds Nest) and the National Aquatic Centre (also known as the Water Cube).
The IFLA considers that the Forest Park is one of the world’s great 21st Century achievements and was “cheerily for the scale of human endeavour in creating an urban park system in a city, the project dazzles with its daring and ambitious landscape planning”.
Professor Tong Mahn Ahn, vice-president of the Asia/Pacific region of IFLA, said that the winning project demonstrated the range of work and contributions that landscape architects are making throughout the region.
“Their vision and work helps to make this rapidly developing region more sustainable, economically, culturally and ecologically,” he said.The total list of awards by the International Federation of Landscape Architects for 2008 is:

Design Category:
President’s Award Mahindra Institute of Quality, India.
Excellence Award Geum Gwang Raemian Landscape, Korea.
Merit Award Tanglin Core, Singapore.

Planning Category:
President’s Award Olympic Forest Park, China.
Excellence Award Zhangzhou Landscape System, China
Merit Award Gwacheon Raemian Landscape, Korea.

The total list of awards by the International Federation of Landscape Architects is divided into three categories: Design, Landscape Planning and Land Management.
Eight entries qualified this year, four in the category Design and four in the category of Landscape Planning. There were no entries in the Land Management Category.
Entries in the design category were:
1. Mahindra Institute of Quality, India; which won the Presidents Award.
2. Geum Gwang Raemian Landscape, Korea, which received an Award of Excellence.
3. Tanglin Core SBG Singapore gained a Merit Award.
Of these, the Mahindra Institute was hailed as “exceptional” by the IFLA for the sense of detail and graphic quality it brought to the project.
The problem of redeveloping urban areas, while still retaining cultural identity posed many problems, many of which were solved by the Geum Gwang Raemian Landscape (Korea) entry, which had “worked with tight constraints of space and possibilities to restore pride in an urban neighbourhood”
The Merit Award winner, Tangling Core had solved a series of problems posed by the historic nature of the Botanical Gardens in Singapore, and “refurbished its infrastructure and indelibility without compromising its original identity.”
The entries in the Landscape Planning category were:
1. Olympic Forest Park, China (President’s Award).
2. Zhangzhou Landscape System, China (Award of Excellence)
3. Gwacheon Raemioan Landscape, Korea (Merit Award)

Contact: Christine Bavassa
efla.exsec@gmail.com