Recently we’ve had a series of positive updates from across Gillespies, including multiple award wins, a national shortlist, involvement in industry judging and opportunities to engage students and the public in the future of landscape. Together, they reflect the many stages at which landscape architects contribute, from design and delivery to professional learning, public participation and the long-term life of places.
City Quays Gardens wins Northern Ireland RICS Heritage Award
City Quays Gardens has won the Heritage category at the 2026 Northern Ireland RICS Awards.
The award recognises the collective work involved in bringing the project to life and the care taken to connect a new public space with Belfast Harbour’s maritime and industrial heritage.
Designed by Gillespies for Belfast Harbour, the gardens have transformed a former car park between the historic Harbour Office and the wider City Quays development into a publicly accessible waterfront landscape.
Following from its regional success, City Quays Gardens has progressed to the RICS UK Awards 2026 national shortlist. It will represent Northern Ireland in the Heritage category at the National Grand Final in London on 22 October 2026.
Two projects recognised at the BALI National Landscape Awards
Two projects involving Gillespies have received BALI National Landscape Awards in the Soft Landscaping Construction (Non-Domestic) – Under £500K category.
Elephant Park H11B was recognised with Elite Landscapes, while the University of Oxford’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities received an award with Ground Control.
The awards recognise the quality and care involved in translating landscape proposals into completed schemes. Successful soft landscape construction depends on close coordination between design and delivery, particularly in establishing planting that can perform, adapt and mature over time.
Congratulations to Elite Landscapes, Ground Control and the wider teams behind both projects.
Thames Tideway Tunnel shortlisted for infrastructure innovation
The Thames Tideway Tunnel has been shortlisted for the Landscape Institute’s Innovation in Infrastructure Award.
The 25-kilometre tunnel addresses one of London’s most significant infrastructure challenges by reducing sewage discharges into the tidal Thames and increasing the resilience of the city’s sewerage network. Its wider contribution can be seen above ground, where operational sites have been used to create new and improved public realm along the river.
Across 24 sites, the project brings together landscape, engineering, architecture, public art, heritage and ecology. Rather than treating essential utility infrastructure solely as a technical constraint, the landscape strategy uses it as an opportunity to improve access to the Thames and create places for everyday public life.
The project demonstrates how a single infrastructure system can create a family of distinct landscapes. Shared elements provide continuity along the route, while each site responds to its particular history, river conditions, ecology, access requirements and local setting.
Its shortlisting recognises a project that does more than serve London from below. It also changes how people experience the Thames above.
Three wins at the Oxford OxProp Awards
Associate Partner Sheena Bell attended the 2026 OxProp Awards at Keble College, Oxford, where two Gillespies projects received three awards.
OxWED was named Best Future Project of the Year, recognising the potential of the proposals and the contribution they can make to Oxford’s future.
The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities at the University of Oxford received both Best Education & Learning Building of the Year and the evening’s overall Best Project of the Year award.
The three wins recognise projects at different stages, from the ambitions of a future development to the realised quality of a new setting for education, research and public life.
Congratulations to our clients, collaborators and everyone involved in both projects.
Stephen Richards to judge The Pineapples Awards 2027
Gillespies Partner Stephen Richards will join the judging panel for The Pineapples Awards 2027.
The awards recognise excellence in placemaking across completed projects, plans and ideas, with a focus on the relationship between design and social, environmental and economic purpose.
Judging offers an opportunity to consider how projects across the industry are responding to the practical challenges facing places today, including climate adaptation, public health, social inclusion and long-term civic value.
The early-bird deadline for entries is 1 October 2026, with entries closing on 12 November 2026.
Welcoming Leeds City College students to our studio
We recently welcomed four students from Leeds City College to our Leeds studio for two intensive and enjoyable days of work experience.
The students were selected after completing a module in landscape architecture delivered by the college. Their work was reviewed by members of the Gillespies team, representatives from Leeds City College and a representative of the Landscape Institute.
Over the two days, we worked together on a live brief for a local site, exploring how sustainable drainage systems, or SuDS, can be incorporated into a scheme from the outset.
This was a useful subject through which to introduce the scope of landscape architecture. SuDS can help manage water, support biodiversity and contribute to climate adaptation, while also shaping the character and everyday experience of a place. Bringing these considerations into the design process early allows them to become part of the landscape, rather than technical measures added later.
Colleagues from across the studio also spoke about their work, projects and individual routes into landscape architecture. Career paths are rarely straightforward, so it was important for the students to see that there is more than one way to enter and contribute to the profession.
The two days concluded with a short presentation and discussion, giving the students an opportunity to explain their ideas and respond to questions from the team.
Our thanks go to Leeds City College, the Landscape Institute and the four students, who brought curiosity, energy and commitment to the experience. We hope they left with a clearer understanding of what landscape architecture involves and the range of directions a career in the profession can take.
A public name for Queensgate Square
Queensgate Square has been selected through a public vote as the name of the new civic space being delivered as part of Huddersfield’s Our Cultural Heart project.
Our focus as landscape architects has been on how the square will work over time. It is designed to support everyday activity alongside events and to form part of a wider civic setting with the library hub and food hall.
The layout brings together movement, places to pause and flexible areas that can respond to different patterns of use across the day and year.
The public naming process adds another layer to the project by connecting the space to local identity before it fully comes into use. Ultimately, the square’s success will be shaped by the relationship between its design, its everyday use and people’s sense of ownership.
We look forward to seeing Queensgate Square become part of Huddersfield’s public life.
