THE PUBLIC (UNDER)GROUND

As Toronto's downtown underground PATH network continues to expand, it is important to consider its potential in creating much needed new urban public space. Shifting current ground level uses to the PATH will allow utilization of the ground level for public areas while activating the underground. In doing so, opportunities exist to examine ways that other underground spaces, such as the several layers reserved for vehicular parking, might contribute to this network. Automobile dependency is unsustainable and parking garages will eventually become obsolete. New downtown buildings should include better-connected, more flexible, underground spaces in anticipation of accommodating different public and private uses in the future.

This thesis proposes a re-examination of the ways that towers connect to the underground in order to produce a system of interior public space — taking advantage of the multiple layers that lie below the city's streets, where pedestrians, vehicles and infrastructure co-exist.