ABOUT THE AWARDS
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YOUR MOMENT TO SHINE AWAITS!
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Let your achievements take centre stage and join us as we celebrate innovation, leadership, and excellence in placemaking at the 2025 Place Leaders Asia-Pacific Awards. This prestigious event showcases cutting-edge achievements across categories such as place governance, leadership and digital placemaking. Explore the inspiring stories of our 2024 Awardees for a glimpse of the creativity and commitment that was recognised.
JAN GEHL CENTREPIECE AWARD
With Jan Gehl's enthusiastic support, the prestigious Jan Gehl Centrepiece Award celebrates Jan’s transformative impact on placemaking across the Asia Pacific region, a global icon of people-centred urban design.
This Award, chosen by our esteemed 2025 Awards Jury, is the premier accolade, the pinnacle for excellence in creating vibrant, people-focused spaces and places.
29
SEPTEMBER
2025
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Award nominations open
17
FEBRUARY 2026
8:00PM
Submissions close
26
FEBRUARY
2025
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Jury deliberations close
31
MARCH 2026
AWARDS EVENT
Winners announced
The Summer Fund
A Summer Session @ Moama Soundshell, 2021
SECTION 2: 2025 AWARD CATEGORIES AND STRUCTURE
Award Type: Overall Excellence
Award Name:
Centrepiece
Recognition:
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Recognition as Category Award winner
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Trophy & Certificate
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Promotion by Place Leaders in 2025 through a range of mediums
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Ability to utilise the Place Leaders brand to promote the award-winning initiative or organisation throughout 2025
Award Type: Category Award
Award Name:
• Place Leadership Award
• Place Governance Award
• Place Engagement Award
• Indigenous Placemaking Award
• Design Excellence in Placemaking Award
• Placemaking for Prosperity Award
• Environmental Placemaking Award
• Digital Placemaking Award
• Pop-Up Placemaking Award​​
Recognition:
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Recognition as Category Award winner
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Trophy & Certificate
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Promotion by Place Leaders in 2025 through a range of mediums
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Ability to utilise the Place Leaders brand to promote the award-winning initiative or organisation throughout 2025
Award Type: Commendation
Award Name:
Commendation (forCategory Awards)
Recognition:
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Certificate
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Promotion by Place Leaders in 2024 through a range of mediums;
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Ability to utilise the Place Leaders brand to promote the award-winning initiative or organisation throughout 2025
AWARDS STRUCTURE
The Place Leaders Asia-Pacific Awards are based on a two-tier system.
Centrepiece Award
This award is allocated as a Jury’s choice award and is given to the individual or organisation that has displayed overall excellence in placemaking from all categories in Australasia and the Asia Pacific in any given year. There is only one winner in any given year. An award may be given regardless of the number of eligible entries. If the jury so determines, no Centrepiece award will be given.
Category Award
This award is given to the individual, organisation, project or initiative that has made the most significant advancement in a particular award category in any given year. There is only one winner per category award in any given year. An award may be given regardless of the number of eligible entries. If there are no suitable nominees no Category Award will be given.
For the Category Award, commendations may be made, with more than one commendation given. Commendations may be given regardless of the number of eligible entries.
Dance Locale
Darling Harbour, 2021
SECTION 3: JUDGING PROCESS AND CRITERIA
The Jury will consider each nomination against the criteria listed for the Award. It is essential that your nomination addresses the criteria for the award. Please review the 'Entries should showcase' and 'Criteria' for each Category Award in the 2025 Place Leaders Awards Guide.​​
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SECTION 4: ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
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All individuals and organisations (public, private and community) committed to and involved in placemaking are eligible to enter the Place leaders Asia Pacific Awards Program. There is no restriction on the number of entries that can be submitted.
Separate nomination forms must be completed for each project or initiative; however, entrants can choose to lodge each project or initiative in multiple categories on the one nomination form.
All nominees will be considered for the 2025 Asia Pacific Awards, subject to meeting the criteria.
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Initiatives submitted should be at practical completion prior to entering. The initiative should provide a clear evidence basis of the success using qualitative and quantitative data. The entry should not have been submitted to the Place Leaders Awards in a prior year. Place Leaders has the sole discretion to refuse an entry or remove it from consideration for an award if Place Leaders is of the opinion that the entry:
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Does not comply with these guidelines
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Is not consistent with the nature and spirit of the awards or is inappropriate, offensive, indecent, or illegal
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Breaches or is likely to breach copyright
SECTION 5: TERMS AND CONDITIONS
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CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
No confidential information should be submitted with your nomination as all information, except for contact information and referee information may be made available through the Place Leaders website within 48 hours of submitting your application.
EDITING YOUR NOMINATION
Once you have submitted your nomination you are no longer able to edit it so please check your documentation carefully prior to submission. In the event that a significant error has been made please contact the Chief Executive Officer of Place Leaders and they will use their discretion as to whether an edit can be made.
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COPYRIGHT
By entering the awards, you agree that Place Leaders Asia Pacific will publish your nomination on the Place Leaders website.
You will also agree that Place Leaders Asia Pacific may reproduce, exhibit, publish, and/or communicate the material and information you give about your nomination and adapt or use your nomination and any portion of it, or give permission to others to do so, in different ways or contexts that Place Leaders sees fit for the purposes of the Awards for as long as required.
For this purpose, your nomination includes all words, images and other materials (including models, film and video) whether in digital, printed or 3D format, you submit online or give to Place Leaders in connection with your entry.
Place Leaders requires that either:
• You personally, or your organisation own(s) all copyright and you authorise the use them as needed for the Awards, by way of non-exclusive license - including for publicity; OR
• You promise that you personally have, or your organisation has, the authority of each and every owner of the copyright to authorise and you do authorise Place Leaders to use them as needed for the Awards, including for publicity.
SECTION 6: ENTRY FEE
Members of Place Leaders Asia Pacific are able to register according to membership benefits, whilst non-members will pay an AUD $675 (+GST) non-refundable registration fee per nomination. This nomination fee includes one complimentary Awards Presentation and Dinner ticket.
In some special circumstances the nomination fee may be waived, please contact Place Leaders for further information. Waiving of the nomination fee is at the discretion of the Chief Executive Officer of Place Leaders.
SECTION 7: HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR AWARD NOMINATION
Entries for all categories are made by completing an online entry awards nomination form or by emailing an Awards Submission Form to awards@placeleaders.com by 8:00pm 17 Feburary 2025 AEST.
Separate nomination forms must be completed for each project or initiative. However, entrants can choose to lodge each project or initiative in multiple categories on the one nomination form.
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FILE NAMING
All supporting images must be JPG or PNG. Please label in the following format;
1 of 5 (number each photo in order)_Project Name_Project Completion Year_Photographer Name (or other attribution)_Brief Photo Description
e.g. 1 of 5_Little Park_2021_Jo Blo_Park Opening Day.jpg
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Other supporting documents:
Project Name_Project Completion Yr_Name of Supporting Document Type​
e.g. Little Park_2019_Small Place Project_Document Description.pdf
Supporting videos or webpages
Submissions can provide up to 2 video URL links and 1 web page link
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For further information regarding the awards email awards@placeleaders.com with the subject line ‘2025 Place Leaders Awards’
Central Park, 2021
2025 AWARDS JURY
Our 2025 Awards Jury brings together Place Leaders who embody the vision, resilience, and creativity that defines place leadership.
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Partner & Managing Director (Europe, Gulf & Asia), Gehl People​
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Henriette is a global authority on people-centred urban design. A founding member of Gehl, she has led city-shaping projects from Sydney’s George Street to London’s Thrive Zones and New York’s City Strategy. Trained under Jan Gehl, her work has influenced urban transformations across Europe, the US, India, Australia and New Zealand. Henriette brings incredibly valuable expertise in embedding human-centred design into complex urban projects, ensuring that thriving, inclusive cities are built for people first.
President, Open House Melbourne
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Sam is a cultural leader and creative producer with over 30 years shaping bold public projects. As former CEO of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation and Executive Director of MPavilion, he delivered internationally acclaimed commissions and the Living Cities Forum (Highly Commended -Design Excellence Award 2024). Now President of Open House Melbourne, Sam continues to champion architecture and design as catalysts for inclusion, sustainability and city liveability. Sam’s bring expertise in connecting ambitious ideas with practical delivery, and influencing the role of culture in the urban fabric.
Director, Planning and Development, City of Whittlesea
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Emma is a highly experienced urban strategist with international experience in regeneration, housing and city renewal. As Director of Planning and Development at the City of Whittlesea, and formerly Director of City Strategy at the City of Melbourne, Emma has delivered transformative programs that balance growth, design quality and community outcomes. Emma is known for her integrity and collaborative leadership and brings an established record of shaping complex urban projects into great places for people.
Place Manager, Ipswich City Council
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Erin is a nationally recognised young leader in placemaking whose work in Ipswich Central was awarded the inaugural Jan Gehl Centrepiece Award for Excellence in Placemaking in 2024. With experience across Australia and abroad, Erin’s expertise is in combining strong community engagement with evidence-based design. Erin’s leadership delivers places that respect heritage, support creativity and build community wellbeing, embodying the people-first ethos at the heart of placemaking.
Group Manager, Liveable Communities, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
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Lucilla is an award-winning placemaking leader with more than two decades of experience across councils and private practice. As Group Manager, Liveable Communities at Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, Lucilla oversees placemaking, social planning, culture, and inclusion, with her leadership recognised through a Highly Commended in the 2024 Place Governance Award. A landscape architect by training, Lucilla is a powerful advocate for co-design and inclusive play, creating lasting places that support community life.