Parks, Forestry and Recreation at the City of Toronto has launched a design competition for a new park at 229 Richmond Street West in downtown Toronto.
The unencumbered, 2,600 square metre site will be the first major park in the King-Spadina neighbourhood in over 20 years. This project will create much needed parkland in the rapidly growing neighbourhood.
The two stage design competition is open to design teams that can include international talent. However, each team must be led by a Landscape Architect registered with the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects. Teams must also include a professional artist or artist team, and an Indigenous design partner with experience or expertise in Indigenous placekeeping (this person can also fulfill other roles on the team).
In this first stage of the competition, the City is seeking submissions from design teams who can demonstrate, through their qualifications, previous work and brief project understanding that they will excel at designing and overseeing construction of this important new park.
Design goals for the new park include:
- Reflecting and celebrating the neighbourhood’s cultural scenes and unique history
- Achieving high standards for sustainability and climate resilience
- Integrating principles of Indigenous place-keeping, in line with the City’s Reconciliation Action Plan
- Providing a green oasis to the dense urban core. The park will include a public washroom.
The deadline for applications is noon on March 2nd, 2023.
