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A design competition was launched by WaterfrontToronto in November 2014 to find a team to redesign both the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and the adjacent Harbour Square Park. The resulting 33 submissions were narrowed down to just five teams, which were revealed to the public in January. Next came the unveiling of the five concept designs, which were put on display for the public in the City Hall rotunda for a week in March. Today, WaterfrontToronto announced that the winning team was that of the Toronto-based firms KPMB Architects and Greenberg Consultants with Rotterdam-based West 8.
"All five design teams, comprising of some of the best design talent from Canada and the world presented excellent and compelling proposals that would transform the Ferry Terminal and surrounding area", said John Campbell, President and CEO of Waterfront Toronto. "The design from KPMB Architects + West 8 + Greenberg Consultants team offered a unique and unifying vision for revitalizing this important piece of Toronto's central waterfront."
The winning team was chosen by a jury of industry professionals led by Donald Schmitt of Diamond Schmitt Architects. The jury included Claude Cormier of Claude Cormier + Associés, Pina Petricone of Giannone Petricone Architects, Antonio Gomez-Palacia of Dialog and Sevaun Palvetzian of CivicAction.
"The Jury was impressed by the design balance achieved between a new heavily landscaped civic park, an elegant, iconic ferry terminal whose naturalistic form echoes the landscape topography, and an overarching plan which makes strong connections to the emerging public realm of the waterfront", said Schmitt.
The team will now have to turn their concept plan into a build-able, phase-able final plan, and money will have to be found by the City to begin construction. Pam McConnell, local City Councillor and Deputy Mayor of Toronto told those gathered that the City has Section 37 funds, Parkland Dedication in-lieu funds, and development charges that can be mustered over the coming years to realize this plan. Of the winning design, McConnell said "On behalf of City Council, I would like to congratulate KPMB Architects, West 8, and Greenberg Consultants on their winning design that will create a beautiful gateway to the Islands for residents and visitors. The transformation of the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and Harbour Square Park will play an important role in the larger revitalization of the waterfront."
You can learn even more about the winning design for the Ferry Terminal and Harbour Square Park by checking out our recent article covering its components.
Additional information, as well as updated renderings of the winning design, can be found in our dataBase file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads
