A team of students from the University of Toronto — including Master of Architecture students Stephanie Tung and Lori Chan, Master of Science in Planning students Sarah Qi-Ying Chan and Lucy Cui, and Master of Business Administration student Krizia Napolitano — received an Honorable Mention in the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Hines Student Competition.

The competition challenged students to "devise a comprehensive design and development scheme for an actual, large-scale site in an urban area."

Titled "The Seam," the students' project focused on a piece of land south of Eastern Avenue, east of the Don River, and north of the Port Lands.

Write the students in their design narrative for the competition:

The Seam is a master-plan strategy that revitalizes Toronto’s formerly industrial east Donlands area by creating a vibrant mixed-use district. Punctuated by cutting-edge architecture and creative public art, the site will leverage existing proximity to major employment centers, transit infrastructure and natural assets to create a new development area that will be instrumental to Toronto’s wider city-building strategy.

A seam is a line along which two pieces of fabric are sewn together; it joins, links and connects.

Owing to its unique geographic location, The Seam is a connection between zones of new development and existing communities. Broadway Avenue will be extended north through the site and connect it to East Harbour and Sidewalk Labs to the south, while the new pedestrian bridge across the Don River will link the site to Corktown Commons and the larger West Donlands area. Thus, the site becomes the final piece to creating a new major corridor. Pedestrian walkways and bicycle lanes will be dispersed throughout to improve connectivity and walkability. Residential units will move from stacked townhouses on the north side to condominium towers on the south side, creating an accompanying gradient of density linking together existing residential to the north and commercial to the south.
 

Congratulations to all involved! For more information about the competition, including a full list of the winning submissions, visit the ULI website.