There are too many spaces on campus that aren’t used to their full potential. Sadly, these types of spaces are found all over campus. Arbitrarily placed benches sit unoccupied while other surfaces—grass, concrete, wood, stone—anything that will support a body, laptop, and three or four textbooks becomes unintentional street furniture.
We have a dream to recycle the abundance of “space waste” into functional, attractive places for students to sit, study, talk, eat, sleep, procrastinate—whatever the day calls for. With such a high concentration of intelligent, creative, and inspired people, the University of Toronto deserves spaces that will encourage a positive and lively intellectual and social community.
While the university invests millions of dollars into grand architectural improvements that often come at a cost to students, what can be done with minimal resources, economizing on material and money while capitalizing on space that is already ours?
Our proposal is for a neglected hillside space on the east side of Hart House Circle, a space that so many students pass by daily and few ever touch (except maybe to throw their trash at). We envision a long bench, carved into the hillside and recovered with a layer of grass. Combining the form of a traditional bench with the liberating sensation of running your fingers through the lawn on a sunny summer day, this will provide a shady space for the academic and general community that passes through this public space.
We wanted this piece of furniture to be entirely environmentally friendly and comfortable, something out of the ordinary but also evoking the familiar. The simple gesture of reshaping the slope of this hill can re-activate an underused, under-loved space, and allow it to become part of the vibrant outdoor environment around Hart House from which it is currently excluded.
