AILA Vic Future Leader Award Winners

2024 Future Leader Award won by RMIT LA student Reneed Boyd (student category) and Runjia (Fiona) Chen (graduate category - shared)

Awards gallery here

Congratulations to RMIT Landscape Architecture MLA student Renee Boyd and MLA graduate Runjia (Fiona) Chen on their success at the 2024 AILA VIC Awards!

Both Renee and Fiona won the ‘Future Leader Award’ which recognises achievement in design, planning, communications and research that is based upon the development of innovative, creative and practical solutions to landscape architectural challenges. It also recognises achievements by AILA student and graduate members and their potential as future leaders for AILA.

Renee Boyd (Winner: Student Category)

“As a passionate landscape architectural student this award recognises Renee’s commitment not only her studies, but to our academic community and the industry more broadly. Her leadership has developed through her role as a committee member of RMIT’s student landscape architecture body. With a keen sense of curiosity, she has connected her peers with the industry through project tours deepening the collective knowledge through experience and building relationships with local practices across Melbourne. This commitment to sharing knowledge and furthering the discourse of landscape architecture extends to her role on the editorial team of Kerb. As a contributor and curator of critical commentary she continues a legacy of student leadership that is shaping the future of our profession and amplifying the voice of landscape architects locally and internationally.”

Runjia (Fiona) Chen (Winner: Graduate Category)

“This award recognises Fiona’s leadership and significant contribution to the design culture of landscape architecture, demonstrated through an impressive portfolio that highlights her commitment to design and innovation. Her practice goes beyond project work and into her development as a practitioner and the operation of the workplace. In addition, she is also contributing to a broader conversation of landscape architecture through her involvement in Kerb and the MPavilion program, as well as her role in the mentor program. Fiona is a Future Leader because she has already demonstrated an ability to bring people together and share her knowledge, highlighting the value of a landscape-led approach to an expanding audience.”