2009 VA ASLA Awards

Communications Professional - Nick's Head Station Master Plan

 

Honor Award 

Project:  Nick's Head Station Master Plan Book
Landscape Architect: Nelson Byrd Woltz; Thomas Woltz, Principal; Breck Gastinger, Project Designer
Client/Owner: Jagra Holdings

The Nick's Head Station book was created to document the firm's extensive landscape design at Nick's Head Station, a 3,000-acre sheep station on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. The book functions as a living document for the client, the designers, and the Stations' staff and visitors that will continue to be updated as projects are completed and as design and restoration projects continue to develop and mature.

The book is useful as a thorough introduction of the landscape to guests of the Station. With many of these guests visiting the country for the first time, the book, and by extension the projects, serve as a primer to the strong cultural and natural forces that shape the New Zealand landscape. The book focuses on three ethics in place at the Station that expand the possibilities of Landscape Architecture. The intention is to continue updating the book periodically to reflect the changes occurring at the Station.

The projects covered in the book are locally, regionally, and nationally important for the innovation and scale of ecological restoration as well as the cooperation with the Maori people within the framework of a working agricultural landscape. While the book is not currently distributed widely, it is available to farm visitors and describes the achievements of the project within the context of the greater cultural and natural histories of New Zealand.

Though the project is located so far away, the book allows the ethic and complexity of the work to influence more local endeavors. The collection of ideas in the book, as illustrated by the projects, has helped visitors to this distant and foreign country read the landscape in new and powerful ways. Not only does that make for more respectful, informed travelers, it provides a new way of seeing and observing the rich fabric of a place that can be applied the world over.

Jury comments:
- Amazing publication
- A thorough explanation of the ecology and culture of the areas
- Professional photography and excellent graphics
- An all around winner