A book by Deakin landscape architect Joshua Zeunert has received national and state awards and been shortlisted for an international award. |
It has been an exciting time for Deakin University landscape architect Joshua Zeunert with a book he was ‘meant to write’ receiving awards at state and national levels and shortlisted for an international award.
Mr Zeunert, a lecturer at Deakin’s School of Architecture and Built Environment, wrote Landscape Architecture and Environmental Sustainability: Creating Positive Change Through Design after identifying a gap in the available texts.
‘Despite sustainability being an overused term, it was surprising to discover in late 2013 that there was no overview book on sustainability projects and theory in landscape architecture,’ Mr Zeunert explains.
‘Bloomsbury Publishing London and peer reviewers agreed, based on a book proposal I submitted in early 2014, signalling the start of a multi-year research process into a topic that I’d been passionate about for over 15 years prior. This made me feel like it was the book I was meant to write!’
And it appears Mr Zeunert has successfully transferred his passion for this topic to the pages of his book. Published in January this year, the book has won two Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) awards: the Award of Excellence in the Research, Policy and Communication category of the 2017 National Landscape Architecture Awards and the Award of Excellence in the same category of the 2017 AILA VIC Awards.
The book was also on the shortlist for the 2017 World Landscape Architecture Awards Research and Communication Award.
In the citation for the national AILA award, the judges commented that Mr Zeunert’s book is an ‘impressive contribution to the profession’ and an ‘excellent introduction to the scope of the discipline for students of landscape architecture’.
For Mr Zeunert, the awards and accolades validate his commitment and hard work.
'The awards are very satisfying as they are the main form of peer review by industry, as opposed to academia, conducted through AILA, the accrediting body of the profession.
‘They effectively validate that nearly three and a half years of arduous work is seen as valuable to the profession and to students, which makes it very much worthwhile.’
You can find out more about Mr Zeunert’s book, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Sustainability on the Bloomsbury Publishing website, including material on the book’s companion website.
