Ever wonder what Toronto will look like in the future? Spacing Magazine tries to answer that question with their thinkToronto urban design ideas competition, which encourages the development of ideas and plans to improve the city’s public realm. The magazine, which focuses on the joys, obstacles, and politics of the urban landscape, selected twelve finalists and eight honourable mentions to be displayed at 401 Richmond’s Urban Space Gallery in the month of February.
Contestants aged thirty-five and under were given carte blanche to create their vision, as long as the design incorporated Toronto’s public squares, streets, traffic circles, plazas, ravines, the waterfront, sidewalks, or greenways. They were assessed on imagination, functionality, attractiveness, sustainability, and accessibility. With over 100 entries received, the competition was fierce.
U of T was represented by Fionn Byrne and Kyle Xuekun Yang, two second-year students in the architecture program. Their design Dreaming of a Better Lakeshore proposes a complete remodeling of the area around the Gardiner Expressway, making it a sea of pedestrian traffic rather than a barrier. Parking lots would be transformed into parks, creating more pedestrian crossways, and shops and restaurants would be built below the concrete artery. Yang says their inspiration came from Japanese-style city planning where major transportation routes are incorporated into the cityscape rather than scarring it. He adds that if the Gardiner were torn down in a few decades, an area filled with culture and beauty would be left below it.
Not surprisingly, several designs focused on green space. David Karle, Dennis Sintiz, and Sarah Thomas’s Green Lung proposes an elevated platform lined with trees, bike paths, and biofuel plants running above the railway tracks from Dufferin Street to the Don River. Yifeu Yuam and Sonia Yuai’s Transplanting the Sun would see subway entrances fitted with solar panels that would transplant the sun’s rays underground, providing commuters with natural light and feeding an underground garden. Brett Hoornaert, Michael Ormston-Holloway, and Elnaz Rashidsanati’s Streetscape Bloor calls for all street parking to be eliminated on Bloor between Avenue and Bathurst, replaced by widened sidewalks, public benches, and trees.
One of the most creative entries was A.J. Vaid’s A Path Home. The University of Waterloo student envisioned the transformation of the Don River into a Sikh spiritual space. Currently a destitute riverside, the area from Gerrard Street southward would be transformed into a cremation ground complete with a temple, meditation pathway, and space to release ashes into the water.
The competition’s winner was Mike Wilson and his entry 5 Minutes. One of five entries addressing transit, his integrated pedestrian and transit information strategy would see public touch screens go up at every subway exit, with digital maps and walking directions to local businesses and amenities. Directing people to routes would motivate individuals to drive less, walk more, and grow in touch with their city. While it might not be the most creative or aesthetically pleasing design, it’s certainly the most feasible.
Though their projects may seem like utopian visions right now, the finalists illustrate the direction of city planning moving fast into the 21st century. Let’s hope Toronto can keep up.
