Design Competition Announced for New Etobicoke Civic Centre

With a shortlist of five design teams for Etobicoke's new Civic Centre announced today, Toronto's former Westwood Theatre Lands are set to be transformed with what's being described as a "new civic landmark" at Dundas and Kipling. Administered by Build Toronto—the City's arms-length real estate and development investment corporation—the international design competition drew entries from around the world.

Overlooking the former Westwood Theatre lands from the Kipling Avenue bridge, image by Craig White

As outlined in Build Toronto's release, the shortlisted teams include companies from Brooklyn, Copenhagen, London (U.K.), Philadelphia, and Rotterdam. Nonetheless, local companies are very strongly represented. In fact, all five design teams are headlined by architecture firms based in Toronto:

The City's vision for the site calls for an "integrated civic hub," featuring a public square, offices, a library, a daycare, and a recreation centre. Following a public presentation of the shortlisted designs—expected in the coming months—the final submissions will be adjudicated in April of this year.

Meanwhile, the City is undertaking a $77 million infrastructure transformation to create a more urban road network in the area. According to today's release, "[t]he design competition builds upon the vision and design concepts for the Westwood Theatre Lands established through the West District Design Initiative and the Etobicoke Centre Public Space and Streetscape Plan 2011."

The Six Points interchange where Kipling, Dundas, and Bloor all meet, is being replaced by a road network, image Apple Maps

Further information about the project—and the design competition—is available via Build Toronto's official website, with a full copy of today's release linked here. You can leave your thoughts in the space provided on this page, or get in on the conversation in our dedicated thread for the project.