In presenting the award the judges made the following citation:
‘Matt's design for the rehabilitation of a copper mine at Kanmantoo in the Adelaide Hills demonstrated a sound knowledge of the principles of landscape remediation of ex-mining sites whilst also emphasising the ‘social’ remediation of the area.
His design philosophy was focused on entropy and the tension between culture and nature, with the title of his project The Arrow of Time reflecting the processes of thermodynamics.
Matt’s design embraced the remediation process of the site by visually showing and referencing the mining processes in different elements, acknowledging that mining did occur rather than trying to disguise it. This then allowed for the creative re use of the tailings and the mine pits for community and educational uses – something he termed social remediation.
The integration of land art, natural systems and technical ability in his design reflected a true understanding of landscape architecture as being a process of science versus art.
He also displayed how his design could be staged and implemented over many years to align with the long term remediation process, and any financial budgets that may drive the remediation’.
The citation was referenced from the AILA website:
http://www.aila.org.au/sa/beames/default.htm
