For those of us who are starved for enough recognition of design within Toronto, we finally have the opportunity to make our mark. The annual AZ People's Choice Awards feature a variety of categories, ranging from furniture design to unrealized concepts. The AZ awards are held by Azure Magazine, a Toronto-based publication with an international distribution which focuses on all aspects of design from industrial to architectural, and a well-known resource for design professionals and aficionados. Toronto's Sugar Beach, designed by Claude Cormier and Associates, has been recognized as one of the top two architectural landscapes of 2011, up against Shanghai's Chengshan Botanic Garden.

Sugar Beach, image courtesy of AZ Awards

Completed last year Sugar Beach is part of WaterfrontTO's ongoing redevelopment of Toronto's industrial blue edge, and set the stage for the continued high design of public spaces within the neighbourhood. The beach is situated atop a former parking lot, a grey spot on the public consciousness that was underused and overlooked. The two-acre public park now features dozens of trees, whitewashed Muskoka chairs and iconic pink umbrellas, all set against a backdrop of the Toronto Islands to the south, and the industrial Redpath Sugar Refinery to the west.

Sugar Beach at night looking north to downtown, image by somemidtowner

To vote for Sugar Beach and show your support for continued design excellence within Toronto check out the AZ Awards here. To read more about Sugar Beach as well as neighbouring Sherbourne Common and the Water's Edge Promenade, check out the dataBase listing below.