LAN3016Y F
Instructor(s): Liz Wreford
Meeting Section: L0102
Tuesday, 9:00am - 1:00pm, 2:00pm - 6:00pm; Friday, 2:00pm - 6:00pm

In Toronto, the north is who we are and where we are in the world. The Down North studio will draw upon resilient approaches to seasonal adaptation, climate adaptation, and our connection to the land. It will explore how we have lived and how we will live up here, down north, in Toronto.

This practice-based studio will explore the role parks and public space have in the future development of northern waterfront cities. In the context of our changing climate and the rapid development of many of these major cities, the studio will investigate opportunities for diverse urban waterfront ecosystems that bring pleasure in the public realm.

The studio site will be Rees Street Park, a surface parking lot at Queens Quay and Rees Street in Toronto’s waterfront district. The park was the subject of an international competition in 2018 to design a bold and innovative park that would set a new standard for sustainability. The winning design has not yet been implemented.

Our culture and our relationship to the land we inhabit has noticeably shifted since the Rees Street Park competition brief was written. The studio will begin with an assessment of the original brief and an analysis to determine what is no longer relevant, what new socio-ecologic considerations should be included, and how a competition brief for a major urban waterfront park could be written in 2022. We will conduct site visits in Toronto, virtually attend the Park People conference from September 21-23, learn about the five shortlisted proposals for the Rees Street site, speak with Waterfront Toronto, and research precents of recent waterfront parks in major cities. Background research on the Malmö/Copenhagen area will be done in advance of our studio trip to Sweden and Denmark in October.

Malmö, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark are 30km apart, linked by the Øresund Bridge. Both are progressive northern cities with major investment in their public spaces and waterfronts. While in Malmö and Copenhagen from October 10th-16th, we will be particularly interested in public waterfront developments and how they are addressing climate change considerations while making great places for people. We will be discussing and documenting construction details, contextual relationships, public engagement and use. We will be meeting with landscape architecture and architecture studios including SLA and CCO and visiting their projects. We will tour the BO01 neighbourhood in Malmö, the inner city harbour and Nordhavn (North Harbour neighbourhood) in Copenhagen and many other places in between. We will be exploring by foot, bicycle, boat, and train.

Upon returning to Toronto, we will apply what we have experienced in Copenhagen and Malmö to the Canadian context. The studio will begin a process of iterative design through making as we explore the Rees Street site. Following our re-tooled brief, the studio will follow a typical professional competition process, moving through many design iterations toward a complete concept design that includes material and detail explorations, physical models of the site and landscape structures, immersive and analytical drawings. Throughout the studio, we will continue to visit sites as a group, discuss details and construction techniques, and visit fabrication workshops in the Toronto area.

The course evaluation will be based on design work as well as participation and engagement in weekly discussions. The course will follow a regular schedule and will be delivered through a combination of in-person and online teaching. Key Travel Dates: October 9: arrive in Copenhagen October 10 to 16: Malmö and Copenhagen area. The day-to-day schedule is to be determined. October 17: return to Toronto It is recommended that you find accommodation in central Copenhagen. Anywhere close to the metro line will be convenient.

Key Travel Dates:

October 9: arrive in Copenhagen

October 10 to 16: Malmö and Copenhagen area. The day-to-day schedule is to be determined.

October 17: return to Toronto

It is recommended that you find accommodation in central Copenhagen. Anywhere close to the metro line will be convenient.