WE inadvertently stole the thunder from local architect firm UDLA in our Herald Traders story about design studio To & Fro last week (“Straight to success,” Herald, November 31).

While UDLA are a client of the start-up designers, the real story behind the photo we published in Traders is the architects’ recent success with a couple of national awards.

UDLA picked up the community contribution award of excellence at the recent National Landscape Architecture Awards for its work creating a “Place of Healing” at a bush block owned by Sister Kate’s Home Kids Aboriginal Corporation in Queens Park.

Sister Kate’s Children’s Cottage Home ran from 1934 to 1975, housing half-caste Aboriginal children in anticipation of later breeding out their Aboriginality. In later years under the Uniting Church conditions became abusive.

• UDLA won a national award for its work at Sister Kate’s healing place.

The UDLA team worked with SKHKAC to make a place for people to participate in cultural reflection, yarning, celebration, ceremony, memorial and learning.

It will include a welcome centre, edible and healing gardens, fauna walk, operations building and an event area.

The project also picked up an award at the state landscape awards in July.

At the national level, UDLA also picked up an award for civic landscape architecture for the Newman town square, which is the centrepiece of a town-wide revitalisation program.

Working with traditional owners, UDLA created a welcoming area for the community, with shady trees, grass, art and a movie screen and stage for performances.