Wollongong's swag of prizes from this week's NSW Australian Institute of Architects awards is proof the city has moved on from its reputation as "the place you just drove past going south on Christmas holidays", Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery says.
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Cr Bradbery welcomed the resounding recognition of the city's architectural pursuits at Thursday night's awards ceremony, where three projects took out honours across multiple categories.
The Crown Street Mall revamp won the top urban design prize, while GPT's Wollongong Central building took out several categories including commercial architecture and urban design.
The University of Wollongong's sustainable research centre won the top prize for sustainable architecture, as well as a commendation in the educational architecture category.
"Now's the time to get the message out that Wollongong is not a basket case, it's far from it," Cr Bradbery said. "We're formerly an industrial city that's moving on, and that's not to say we don't own our industrial past and its opportunities, but the image of Wollongong being a backwater is now over."
The newfound architectural prowess was "just the beginning" of Wollongong's renewal, he said, with the three awarded projects to "set the pace for the future of Wollongong's architecture".
"The built form in Wollongong has been neglected for a long time, under the veil of being an industrial city and therefore it had a utilitarian approach," he said.
"But Wollongong deserves better because it's in such a beautiful location with its natural features, so why shouldn't its built form be equally as beautiful?"
Cr Bradbery said Wollongong City Council could claim credit for the new direction and brushed off critics who labelled Crown Street Mall's makeover cold, sterile and like a prison yard.
"I'm not saying there aren't critics, but somebody has to make a move and take on board that our city has to change," he said. "Wollongong City Council, this term, has really tried to turn this city around and say that what we build in this city must be of a high standard ... we were finally the ones who gave it the tick and got it going.
"We need to realise that this is like a canvas to do other things in the mall. There's all sorts of things yet to happen in terms of the beautification of the mall."
He noted there were plans to spend $500,000 on installing public art and the council was looking at the idea of mobile gardens.
"It won't happen over night, but step by step we're putting in place a new Wollongong."
