Landscape Architecture: Landscape Architecture: - School of ...

The fabric of Toronto is literally changing daily. With the city
in the midst of a burgeoning architectural renaissance, a
number of international star architects, including Frank Gehry
and Daniel Libeskind, have landed to create an exceptional
collection of fashionable iconic works. Of course the addition of
contemporary architecture is an important element in
reshaping any city’s urban fabric. But what is important is also
what is happening in between those dramatic architectural
moments, in the continuous space of the city.
Collectively, Toronto is by and large an enlightened
metropolis that recognises the value of quality public space.
With this in mind, the fires are lit yet again on its ongoing
waterfront revitalisation initiative. With the selection of the
competition-winning scheme by Rotterdam landscape
architect Adriaan Geuze of West 8, in a joint venture with
local architects du Toit Allsopp Hillier (DTAH), the stretch of
lakefront at the city core is poised to be infused with a lively
mix of recreational and pedestrian amenities, cultural
facilities and private condominiums.
Toronto’s civic awareness of its waterfront can be traced
back to the city’s founder, John Graves Simcoe, who in 1793
advocated the preservation of the water’s edge for the benefit
of all citizens. The name Toronto is actually a Native American
term for ‘trees in the water’, though it is often mistakenly
translated as ‘meeting place’. Once home to shipbuilding and
military operations, some remnants of the city’s heritage still
remain, including the former Tip Top Tailors Building,
Toronto’s most significant Art Deco structure now repurposed
as premium lofts.
Large-scale urban planning began in earnest in the late
1970s. Yet with only a few isolated spurts – such as the recent
Music Garden which interprets in landscape Bach’s ‘First Suite
for Unaccompanied Cello’ and was co-designed by landscape
West 8 and du Toit Allsopp Hillier (DTAH), Waterfront Revitalisation
Initiative, Toronto, Canada, 2006
A floating bioremediation reef in the form of the iconic maple leaf adds a
touch of folly to the scheme.
Speaking the vernacular of the Canadian north, the scheme features several
heavy timber bridges that run the length of the boardwalk and provide a
continuous pathway along the water’s edge.
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