A
afransen TO
Guest
I think the arches/pool are the only things that are safe.
Toronto Toronto City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | Perkins&Will
S
scarberiankhatru
Guest
"I hope they don't mess with the walkway"
I hope they specifically mess with the walkway in terms of major maintenance, recladding, whatever. Concrete and/or mystery aggregate #3 can be attractive, but are very rarely so once they start aging and falling apart.
I hope they specifically mess with the walkway in terms of major maintenance, recladding, whatever. Concrete and/or mystery aggregate #3 can be attractive, but are very rarely so once they start aging and falling apart.
B
Brighter Hell
Guest
My thoughts:
-One of the side effects of the walkways is that everything outside of them has been forgotten. Right now those areas don't address Queen St or Bay St or the intersection or the rest of the square - that all needs to be redesigned.
-Get rid of the clutter in the main part of the square.
-Granite instead of concrete?
-Find a better solution for keeping people off the arches than chain link fences.
-One of the side effects of the walkways is that everything outside of them has been forgotten. Right now those areas don't address Queen St or Bay St or the intersection or the rest of the square - that all needs to be redesigned.
-Get rid of the clutter in the main part of the square.
-Granite instead of concrete?
-Find a better solution for keeping people off the arches than chain link fences.
M
MetroMan1000
Guest
Regarding the chainlink fences at the arches, they're not much of a deterrent. Anybody can climb on the side. They're only meant to be a visual deterrent so they could easily be replaced by anybody with a drop of creativity.
A
Archivistower
Guest
I agree with Brighter Hell's suggestions, and I'd add getting rid of the improvised chain-link maintenance equipment storage area under the west walkway.
A
AlvinofDiaspar
Guest
From the Post, by Ouelette:
An opportunity to reinvent ourselves
City to announce design contest to make over Nathan Phillips Square
Robert Ouellette, National Post
Published: Tuesday, October 03, 2006
When built, Toronto's new city hall represented everything the city wanted to be: dynamic, youthful and infused with a sense of the possibilities post-war Canada offered. With that kind of momentum, it soon became emblematic of a democratic ideal that made our city the envy of the world.
Somewhere into the city hall's middle age, though, it took on signs of overindulgence that eroded its symbolic power.
Parts of the building and square became rundown and flabby. The council chamber podium closed after a bad accident. The elevated walkway circling Nathan Phillips Square was declared unsafe.
In addition, the extra fat of too many buildings bulged the once open and light plaza. What had been the healthy heart of a modern, open gathering place became clogged by excessive good intentions.
For example, the skating rink concession stand and washroom building was never equal to the design of city hall -- it remains an awkward and uncomfortable intrusion. The peace garden intruded into the once-open plaza. While well considered as an object, it has become another piece of design cholesterol in the public body of the square.
In 2005, the 40th anniversary of city hall, councillors decided they had enough. It was time for a total makeover. They promised a $40-million competition to rejuvenate the square. Remember, when Governor-General Georges Vanier opened the building in 1965, its total cost was about $31-million. In 2006, $40-million buys us just a renovated square, and not even all of it.
Today, Mayor David Miller will announce the international competition's start and some wonder if we can once again find our youth -- at least as it was once embodied in the slim iconography of city hall.
However, do we as a culture have the vitality and confidence to embrace changes like those embraced 50 years ago by Mayor Nathan Phillips and his contemporaries? Think of how alien the city hall design must have seemed to a city just coming of age at a time when commercial jets and colour TV were rarities. Would Torontonians allow something as unequivocally new today?
Many fear the answer to that question is no. With every attempt to update and invigorate the city, we are forced back to solutions that even our allegedly conservative forefathers dismissed as too early century --20th century that is. Will this competition become another failed signpost in our ongoing struggle to reinvent a creative city?
Make no mistake. This competition involves more than fixing a few problems on the square. At its core is the issue of how we shake off our moribund body politic and its acceptance of things as they are. Now is the time to reinvent ourselves if Toronto is to compete with the best cities of the world and we cannot do that without change.
Toronto architect Jack Diamond, of Diamond and Schmidt Architects, says it this way, ''Is the original design too sacred? Nothing is sacred ...''
''A really important idea in urban design is that history does not stop. Anything can be improved. Look how Bernini improved Michelangelo's St. Peter's Basilica Square.''
Others share a similar view.
''With clutter,'' says Bruce Kuwabara of KPMB Architects and the chair of the Waterfront Design Review Panel, ''you fail to understand the idea behind the square's overall design.'' He stresses that, ''The accretion of well-intentioned little things -- from the way garbage is handled all the way up to the peace garden and temporary stage -- impede the design intent, which was that the square must reflect Toronto as a society.''
That is the attitude that abandoned us over the last generation. We somehow grew accustomed to the idea that Torontonians lived in a perfect society that needed only a few tweaks now and then to stay the envy of the world. We added but never took away, failing to reinvent our infrastructure. That is why the Gardiner Expressway still cuts us off from the waterfront and why, after so many attempts, we have not figured out how to move people to vital areas of the city effectively and sustainably.
The competition winner will be announced next spring. What direction will they take? What direction do you want them to take?
© National Post 2006
An opportunity to reinvent ourselves
City to announce design contest to make over Nathan Phillips Square
Robert Ouellette, National Post
Published: Tuesday, October 03, 2006
When built, Toronto's new city hall represented everything the city wanted to be: dynamic, youthful and infused with a sense of the possibilities post-war Canada offered. With that kind of momentum, it soon became emblematic of a democratic ideal that made our city the envy of the world.
Somewhere into the city hall's middle age, though, it took on signs of overindulgence that eroded its symbolic power.
Parts of the building and square became rundown and flabby. The council chamber podium closed after a bad accident. The elevated walkway circling Nathan Phillips Square was declared unsafe.
In addition, the extra fat of too many buildings bulged the once open and light plaza. What had been the healthy heart of a modern, open gathering place became clogged by excessive good intentions.
For example, the skating rink concession stand and washroom building was never equal to the design of city hall -- it remains an awkward and uncomfortable intrusion. The peace garden intruded into the once-open plaza. While well considered as an object, it has become another piece of design cholesterol in the public body of the square.
In 2005, the 40th anniversary of city hall, councillors decided they had enough. It was time for a total makeover. They promised a $40-million competition to rejuvenate the square. Remember, when Governor-General Georges Vanier opened the building in 1965, its total cost was about $31-million. In 2006, $40-million buys us just a renovated square, and not even all of it.
Today, Mayor David Miller will announce the international competition's start and some wonder if we can once again find our youth -- at least as it was once embodied in the slim iconography of city hall.
However, do we as a culture have the vitality and confidence to embrace changes like those embraced 50 years ago by Mayor Nathan Phillips and his contemporaries? Think of how alien the city hall design must have seemed to a city just coming of age at a time when commercial jets and colour TV were rarities. Would Torontonians allow something as unequivocally new today?
Many fear the answer to that question is no. With every attempt to update and invigorate the city, we are forced back to solutions that even our allegedly conservative forefathers dismissed as too early century --20th century that is. Will this competition become another failed signpost in our ongoing struggle to reinvent a creative city?
Make no mistake. This competition involves more than fixing a few problems on the square. At its core is the issue of how we shake off our moribund body politic and its acceptance of things as they are. Now is the time to reinvent ourselves if Toronto is to compete with the best cities of the world and we cannot do that without change.
Toronto architect Jack Diamond, of Diamond and Schmidt Architects, says it this way, ''Is the original design too sacred? Nothing is sacred ...''
''A really important idea in urban design is that history does not stop. Anything can be improved. Look how Bernini improved Michelangelo's St. Peter's Basilica Square.''
Others share a similar view.
''With clutter,'' says Bruce Kuwabara of KPMB Architects and the chair of the Waterfront Design Review Panel, ''you fail to understand the idea behind the square's overall design.'' He stresses that, ''The accretion of well-intentioned little things -- from the way garbage is handled all the way up to the peace garden and temporary stage -- impede the design intent, which was that the square must reflect Toronto as a society.''
That is the attitude that abandoned us over the last generation. We somehow grew accustomed to the idea that Torontonians lived in a perfect society that needed only a few tweaks now and then to stay the envy of the world. We added but never took away, failing to reinvent our infrastructure. That is why the Gardiner Expressway still cuts us off from the waterfront and why, after so many attempts, we have not figured out how to move people to vital areas of the city effectively and sustainably.
The competition winner will be announced next spring. What direction will they take? What direction do you want them to take?
© National Post 2006
T
tudararms
Guest
Queen Street, between Yonge and University, should be one of the 'show pieces' of Toronto. NPS plays a big part in this. I hope there will be a big improvement.
A
AlvinofDiaspar
Guest
From City of Toronto News:
October 3, 2006       
Revitalization of Nathan Phillips Square - a Design Competition
               
Mayor David Miller announced today that the City of Toronto is launching an international design competition to revitalize Nathan Phillips Square -- the city’s premier outdoor public gathering space, a leading tourist attraction, and national and provincial landmark.
“The City is asking members of the design community to look at this vital public space with fresh eyes,†said Mayor David Miller, “and to instill in us an idea of what Nathan Phillips Square can become as a source of inspiration for all Torontonians."
He said, "The City believes that Nathan Phillips Square’s usefulness and beauty can be improved and revitalized.â€Â
More than 175 events of every variety are held on Nathan Phillips Square annually, drawing more than 1.5 million visitors and making it one of the City’s major attractions. Through a series of well-attended public consultations, it was determined that major design attention is needed in several areas of the square that are under-developed and under-used.
The City of Toronto is inviting Canadian and international architects, landscape architects, planners, engineers and other design professionals to submit design proposals.
An impartial jury has been appointed to judge submissions and select the winning design in a two-stage competition. The jury includes six local and international experts in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture and architectural heritage preservation, and members with artistic experience and community involvement. The jurists are:
• Dinu Bumbaru: Internationally recognized heritage architect, currently policy director for Heritage Montréal and secretary general of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
• David Crombie: Former mayor of Toronto and federal cabinet minister, founding chair of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust and currently president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute.
• Eric Haldenby: Architect and director of the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, a specialist in the design of cultural sites, involved in research in archaeology and architectural history, and currently co-director of a project on innovative research and design of core areas in mid-sized Canadian cities.
• Frances Halsband: Architect practicing in New York as a partner in the firm of R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects (which has received more than 50 design awards) and a visiting distinguished professor at a number of universities in the United States.
• Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: Distinguished landscape architect based in Vancouver, involved in a wide range of internationally acclaimed projects in Canada and the United States.
• Michael Ondaatje: Author whose work encompasses fiction, memoir, poetry and film. He is best known for his novels In the Skin of a Lion, The English Patient and Anil’s Ghost. He was born in Sri Lanka and came to Canada in 1962. He lives in Toronto.
The City has retained architect Peter Ortved of CS&P Architects Inc. as the professional advisor for the competition.
Ortved explained, “The new design must respect the clarity of the original vision by architect Viljo Revell and reflect the energy, beauty and dignity that the citizens of Toronto value in this great public space.â€Â
To fund the square’s revitalization and restoration, the City has made a $16-million financial commitment and is seeking an additional $24 million in contributions from other levels of government, the private sector and the business community.
“We must forge key partnerships if we are going to realize key public initiatives such as this one,†said Mayor Miller. “I would like to invite private donors and the business community to step forward to provide leadership and help fund the redesign of the square. The revitalization of Nathan Phillips Square is about our quest for excellence in architectural design and better, bolder development across the City.â€Â
More information about the design competition is available at www.toronto.ca/npsquarecompetition
Media contacts:
Don Wanagas, Director of Communications, Office of the Mayor, 416-338-7134
Sheila Glazer, Manager, Strategic Policy and Projects, Facilities and Real Estate Division, 416-392-0879
AoD
October 3, 2006       
Revitalization of Nathan Phillips Square - a Design Competition
               
Mayor David Miller announced today that the City of Toronto is launching an international design competition to revitalize Nathan Phillips Square -- the city’s premier outdoor public gathering space, a leading tourist attraction, and national and provincial landmark.
“The City is asking members of the design community to look at this vital public space with fresh eyes,†said Mayor David Miller, “and to instill in us an idea of what Nathan Phillips Square can become as a source of inspiration for all Torontonians."
He said, "The City believes that Nathan Phillips Square’s usefulness and beauty can be improved and revitalized.â€Â
More than 175 events of every variety are held on Nathan Phillips Square annually, drawing more than 1.5 million visitors and making it one of the City’s major attractions. Through a series of well-attended public consultations, it was determined that major design attention is needed in several areas of the square that are under-developed and under-used.
The City of Toronto is inviting Canadian and international architects, landscape architects, planners, engineers and other design professionals to submit design proposals.
An impartial jury has been appointed to judge submissions and select the winning design in a two-stage competition. The jury includes six local and international experts in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture and architectural heritage preservation, and members with artistic experience and community involvement. The jurists are:
• Dinu Bumbaru: Internationally recognized heritage architect, currently policy director for Heritage Montréal and secretary general of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
• David Crombie: Former mayor of Toronto and federal cabinet minister, founding chair of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust and currently president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute.
• Eric Haldenby: Architect and director of the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, a specialist in the design of cultural sites, involved in research in archaeology and architectural history, and currently co-director of a project on innovative research and design of core areas in mid-sized Canadian cities.
• Frances Halsband: Architect practicing in New York as a partner in the firm of R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects (which has received more than 50 design awards) and a visiting distinguished professor at a number of universities in the United States.
• Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: Distinguished landscape architect based in Vancouver, involved in a wide range of internationally acclaimed projects in Canada and the United States.
• Michael Ondaatje: Author whose work encompasses fiction, memoir, poetry and film. He is best known for his novels In the Skin of a Lion, The English Patient and Anil’s Ghost. He was born in Sri Lanka and came to Canada in 1962. He lives in Toronto.
The City has retained architect Peter Ortved of CS&P Architects Inc. as the professional advisor for the competition.
Ortved explained, “The new design must respect the clarity of the original vision by architect Viljo Revell and reflect the energy, beauty and dignity that the citizens of Toronto value in this great public space.â€Â
To fund the square’s revitalization and restoration, the City has made a $16-million financial commitment and is seeking an additional $24 million in contributions from other levels of government, the private sector and the business community.
“We must forge key partnerships if we are going to realize key public initiatives such as this one,†said Mayor Miller. “I would like to invite private donors and the business community to step forward to provide leadership and help fund the redesign of the square. The revitalization of Nathan Phillips Square is about our quest for excellence in architectural design and better, bolder development across the City.â€Â
More information about the design competition is available at www.toronto.ca/npsquarecompetition
Media contacts:
Don Wanagas, Director of Communications, Office of the Mayor, 416-338-7134
Sheila Glazer, Manager, Strategic Policy and Projects, Facilities and Real Estate Division, 416-392-0879
AoD
F
FutureMayor
Guest
I question the need for another expensive and lengthy design competition.
I would actually be opposed to making any radical changes to the design of the square, including taking down the walkways.
The square works just fine in my opinion, it is well used and programmed. We already know what is wrong with it; the clutter, the ugly washroom building, the unused elevated walkway, the portable stage, the chain link fence at the base of the arches, the unuseable and dirty reflecting pool.
Why not just spend the money to renovate and reopen these areas? Move the peace garden west of the walkway, renovate the washroom, (maybe with a rooftop cafe on top or permanent stage), reopen the walkway, replace the chain link fence, make the pool safe for playing.
While we are at it, the plan should include renovating Queen Street between University and Yonge and Bay Street from Richmond to Dundas with new paving, lighting, street planters, banners and art work. These streets are the key gateways to the civic buildings and are so heavily travelled yet they are so depressing and ugly.
If the $40 million price tag is too much for the city to handle (even after city council approved building a $28 million practice rink for the crap ass wealthy maple leafs in south Etobicoke - while the leafs leave Maple Leaf Gardens to rot -talk about priorities), let us ask citizens to step forward instead.
Let's take a page out of Chicago's Milliennium Park and challenge the city's top 40 wealthy individuals or corporations to commit $1 million each to join the exclusive club. It's a win-win deal for everyone, the rich, the poor, the whole city.
Louroz
I would actually be opposed to making any radical changes to the design of the square, including taking down the walkways.
The square works just fine in my opinion, it is well used and programmed. We already know what is wrong with it; the clutter, the ugly washroom building, the unused elevated walkway, the portable stage, the chain link fence at the base of the arches, the unuseable and dirty reflecting pool.
Why not just spend the money to renovate and reopen these areas? Move the peace garden west of the walkway, renovate the washroom, (maybe with a rooftop cafe on top or permanent stage), reopen the walkway, replace the chain link fence, make the pool safe for playing.
While we are at it, the plan should include renovating Queen Street between University and Yonge and Bay Street from Richmond to Dundas with new paving, lighting, street planters, banners and art work. These streets are the key gateways to the civic buildings and are so heavily travelled yet they are so depressing and ugly.
If the $40 million price tag is too much for the city to handle (even after city council approved building a $28 million practice rink for the crap ass wealthy maple leafs in south Etobicoke - while the leafs leave Maple Leaf Gardens to rot -talk about priorities), let us ask citizens to step forward instead.
Let's take a page out of Chicago's Milliennium Park and challenge the city's top 40 wealthy individuals or corporations to commit $1 million each to join the exclusive club. It's a win-win deal for everyone, the rich, the poor, the whole city.
Louroz
C
cdl42
Guest
Some great points, Louroz. The idea of combining a new washroom & services building with a rooftop stage is a particularily interesting idea and should be looked in to.
M
MetroMan1000
Guest
Louroz: good points but Millenium Park was no fixup job. If we're going to follow Millenium Park's example (which is one of the most well put together city endeavours I've seen), we need to be bold and have a new vision for a new chapter in the city's history.
I totally agree that fixing up Queen from Yonge to University (York to University already looks great with the 4SC and Osgoode Hall's Gate) and Bay Street, up to Dundas is a major priority.
Make it the City Hall district, with identifiable landmarks, street signs, sidewalk patterns and street furniture that lets people know that they're close to Nathan Philips Square.
Cleaning up the square of all the clutter should be the major concern for this project, but adding a new landmark item (the stage is the best candidate) should be the centerpiece.
Taking from Millenium Park's plan, imagine a Gehry designed NPS. I can't sit down with the excitement of that possibility.... but I've already sat down because $40M won't buy us half a Jay Pritzker Pavillion.
:rolleyes
I totally agree that fixing up Queen from Yonge to University (York to University already looks great with the 4SC and Osgoode Hall's Gate) and Bay Street, up to Dundas is a major priority.
Make it the City Hall district, with identifiable landmarks, street signs, sidewalk patterns and street furniture that lets people know that they're close to Nathan Philips Square.
Cleaning up the square of all the clutter should be the major concern for this project, but adding a new landmark item (the stage is the best candidate) should be the centerpiece.
Taking from Millenium Park's plan, imagine a Gehry designed NPS. I can't sit down with the excitement of that possibility.... but I've already sat down because $40M won't buy us half a Jay Pritzker Pavillion.
:rolleyes
B
bizorky
Guest
Amen!
M
MetroMan1000
Guest
^^ can we at least get an Anish Kapoor piece?
Please, pretty please
Please, pretty please
M
MetroMan1000
Guest
Should we start a new thread for creative input from UT on this project or should we just merge it into this competition announcement thread?
In the interest of avoiding The Wrath of The Mods Part II I'll just stick it here for now.
Podium:
It must be reopened. Revell's vision for NPS was one of openness and civic participation by the citizens of Toronto. Keeping the podium around the "flying saucer" closed is unacceptable.
For the podium, I would propose setting an example in Green Roofs. Toronto is basking in worldwide recognition for its strong initiatives in green roofs. Make this a model for others to follow:
Create a Pierre Elliot Trudeau Garden with lush greenery, ponds and benches. The structure is built to support the weight of a multitude of cars so building a garden (with trees) is buildable by an engineering standpoint.
The Peace Garden would be relocated here. This would be a truly peaceful area above the city and the hustle and bustle below.
To prevent any worries of snipers shooting into the council chambers, build a pond separating the garden's main path from the windows. A pond won't prevent a sniper from reaching the windows but will definitely raise a red flag for suspicious behavior since nobody should be in the pond.
Bathroom and Gardens in the Square
The bathroom is to be removed. As previously mentioned, the Peace Garden would be relocated to the podium's green roof. There is one remaining garden within the confines of the walkway: the one next to the bathroom. Remove this final space leaving room for a large central civic space at the doors of City Hall for events that already occur here throughout the year.
Reflecting Pool and Arches
With the bathroom building now gone, extend the pool West by another 20-30 ft. The added space would allow for an iconic new piece. A modern sculpture (Anish Kapoor anybody?) that releases water into the pool.
Reduce the depth of the pool to less than an inch as to allow people to walk in the water. For anybody who's seen Crown Fountain in Chicago's Millenium Park, you'll know this is one of the most participatory spaces in the city. People of all ages come here to "Walk on Water". It's one of the "funnest" things to watch also.
The water at this fountain is only half an inch high so people can walk on it with their shoes, but most will go barefoot and others yet lay on the watery floor.
NPS's new reflecting pool would become The Place To Beat the Heat in the summer, a title long due to match the already popular Place to Skate in the winter.
Inspiration: Crown Fountain
West Park
Finally, the park to the West should be made to be more concise. Right now there are patches of unmatching swaths of park.
I envision a long grand lawn running North South. Trees could line the sides, but nothing in the center, creating a pillar of grass from Queen St. to Armoury St.
At the North end of this long Great Lawn would be a multi use structure.
Viewed from the South, it would be a stage. On the North side of this structure would be the new Parking entrance (now removed from Queen St where the Park meets the sidewalk) and on the side, access to the underground bathroom, storage faciities and stage greenroom.
Millenium Park lawn
Summary
With all these pieces in place, you would have Four parts to NPS
1 - City Hall with Green Roof
2 - Playful & Participatory new reflective pool with Freedom Arches and new fountain like sculpture
3 - Grand Lawn which meets Queen St in a welcoming manner and a new permanent stage at the North End.
4 - Civic space at the door to City Hall, open and programmable for most uses.
In the interest of avoiding The Wrath of The Mods Part II I'll just stick it here for now.
Podium:
It must be reopened. Revell's vision for NPS was one of openness and civic participation by the citizens of Toronto. Keeping the podium around the "flying saucer" closed is unacceptable.
For the podium, I would propose setting an example in Green Roofs. Toronto is basking in worldwide recognition for its strong initiatives in green roofs. Make this a model for others to follow:
Create a Pierre Elliot Trudeau Garden with lush greenery, ponds and benches. The structure is built to support the weight of a multitude of cars so building a garden (with trees) is buildable by an engineering standpoint.
The Peace Garden would be relocated here. This would be a truly peaceful area above the city and the hustle and bustle below.
To prevent any worries of snipers shooting into the council chambers, build a pond separating the garden's main path from the windows. A pond won't prevent a sniper from reaching the windows but will definitely raise a red flag for suspicious behavior since nobody should be in the pond.
Bathroom and Gardens in the Square
The bathroom is to be removed. As previously mentioned, the Peace Garden would be relocated to the podium's green roof. There is one remaining garden within the confines of the walkway: the one next to the bathroom. Remove this final space leaving room for a large central civic space at the doors of City Hall for events that already occur here throughout the year.
Reflecting Pool and Arches
With the bathroom building now gone, extend the pool West by another 20-30 ft. The added space would allow for an iconic new piece. A modern sculpture (Anish Kapoor anybody?) that releases water into the pool.
Reduce the depth of the pool to less than an inch as to allow people to walk in the water. For anybody who's seen Crown Fountain in Chicago's Millenium Park, you'll know this is one of the most participatory spaces in the city. People of all ages come here to "Walk on Water". It's one of the "funnest" things to watch also.
The water at this fountain is only half an inch high so people can walk on it with their shoes, but most will go barefoot and others yet lay on the watery floor.
NPS's new reflecting pool would become The Place To Beat the Heat in the summer, a title long due to match the already popular Place to Skate in the winter.
Inspiration: Crown Fountain
West Park
Finally, the park to the West should be made to be more concise. Right now there are patches of unmatching swaths of park.
I envision a long grand lawn running North South. Trees could line the sides, but nothing in the center, creating a pillar of grass from Queen St. to Armoury St.
At the North end of this long Great Lawn would be a multi use structure.
Viewed from the South, it would be a stage. On the North side of this structure would be the new Parking entrance (now removed from Queen St where the Park meets the sidewalk) and on the side, access to the underground bathroom, storage faciities and stage greenroom.
Millenium Park lawn
Summary
With all these pieces in place, you would have Four parts to NPS
1 - City Hall with Green Roof
2 - Playful & Participatory new reflective pool with Freedom Arches and new fountain like sculpture
3 - Grand Lawn which meets Queen St in a welcoming manner and a new permanent stage at the North End.
4 - Civic space at the door to City Hall, open and programmable for most uses.
A
adma
Guest
We already have one, btw/CBC + WSIB.
Oh, and re Millennium Park, just because we need something like it generally, doesn't mean it has to be *here*...