Dr Elisa Palazzo | UNSW Research

Dr Palazzo is an architect/urbanist and landscape architect with a broad international experience in both research and the profession. She is the Coordinator of the Landscape Architecture Master program and Senior Lecturer at UNSW, Sydney.

Her Ph.D. in urban design, regional and environmental planning examined the role of landscape architecture in urban design to achieve more resilient and environmentally sound cities. She has been lecturing in several universities in Italy and China (Pisa and Florence universities, Tsinghua Beijing), besides Australia, in urban design, environmental planning and landscape architecture.

Her research is situated across spatial planning, landscape design and urban ecology. Her work focuses on adaptive, regenerative and transdisciplinary design strategies to address environmental change, specifically exploring the role of flood management in the renewal of urban and cultural landscapes.

Dr Palazzo is a registered architect and landscape architect. She has collaborated with renowned landscape and urban design institutes, Fernado Tavora arquitectos in Portugal, Turenscape and THUPDI in China. In 20 years with her own practice, studiostudio architetti/urbanisti she has led several award winning large scale projects for governments and international organisations such as UNESCO. As Chief Architect/Landscape Architect she has realised projects and plans dealing with urban regeneration, green infrastructures design and environmental recovery of degraded urban areas and landscapes.

Personal website: Urban Ecosystem-design Lab

My Grants

On going projects:

2020 - Lead CI - Aboriginal Cultural Landscape Heritage Project. Liverpool council, NSW

2019 - Lead CI - Mapping the resilience of the Bio-cultural landscape of Hunter Valley. HVWTA, NSW

2018 - CI - Placemaking and Tactical Urbanism program. MYER foundation, national project

Past projects:

2017 - Lead CI - Urban Landscape Regeneration in Northern Adelaide. Department of State Development, SA

2016 - CI - Water sensitive cities: Holistic applications of Stormwater Management. With UTM, Kuala Lumpur

2016 - Lead CI - Special Project Fund. Academic Consortium 21 (AC21). Adelaide, Tongji, Strasbourg.

2015 - CI - Evaluation of bio-cultural diversity across an agrarian landscape. DEWNR, SA

My Awards

Dr Palazzo was the recipient of:

Banksia Sustainability award 2020 - Academia and Research category, as Place Agency consortium co-founder and UNSW Team Leader.

Learning & Teaching Award 2020 - Learning Design through Technology, Faculty of Built Environment, UNSW Sydney

Place Leadership Award 2019 as Place Agency consortium co-founder and UNSW Team Leader. Place Leaders Asia and the pacific.

Executive Dean’s award for excellence in teaching 2017, Faculty of the Professions, University of Adelaide.

Her projects and plans received numerous awards. These include two EUROPAN first prizes in 1996 and 1999 for her works focusing on agricultural production and urban farming in the design of new cities. In 1999, she was the recipient of the "Peter Joseph Lenné Preis", one of the most prestigious prizes in landscape architecture in Europe.

Her realised works received several recognitions for their contribution to participatory planning and innovation in urban landscape design, including among the most significant:

2014 Premio Architettura Territorio Fiorentino, category: Urban spaces and landscape, Fondazione - Professione Architetto, Firenze – 1st prize

2014 Innovation and Urban Quality Award, Architecture and City. Section new uses and design – 2nd prize

2014 RI.U.SO Award 03. Sustainable Urban Regeneration. Architects National Council, Rome Italy – honourable mention

2014 Premio Legambiente with Architects National Council, Rome Italy – honourable mention

2013 Design for all - Innovation and urban quality Award, Ferrara Italy – 1st prize

2011 The participatory design of public space - Award, Italian National Institute of Urban Planning INU - 3rd prize

2010 Tuscany Eco Efficiency Award 2010, sustainable mobility - special mention

My Research Supervision

Areas of supervision

I am available to supervise HDR (PhD and MPhil). From 2015/2016 have supervised three PhD students and one Post-Doc to successful completion. I am available to supervise in any area pertaining to my research interests and in particular looking for new PhD candidates in the fields of:

Green Washing in Landscape Architecture in Australia and South East Asia.

Urban water management, flood and design

Viticulture as a cultural practice in landscape management