Although the Beach neighbourhood of Toronto is a summer long festival of colour and pageant, this is not true of the winter months. No place is this more evident than along the boardwalk of Toronto’s east-end beaches, where vacant, utilitarian lifeguard stations standout as symbols of public space beholden to weather.
In an effort to infuse colour and vibrancy back into one of Toronto’s most underappreciated winterscapes, RAW Design, Ferris + Associates and Curio have teamed up to launch Winter Stations, an open international design competition, welcoming artists, designers, architects and landscape architects.
Competitors are asked to create temporary wintertime installations anchored to the life guard stands that inject colour, movement, humour and more into the landscape. The theme chosen for this year’s inaugural competition is Warmth. There is no limit to the size of the installation, but the jurors will take durability and constructability into account. Judges include Toronto Star Architect and Urban Affairs critic Christopher Hume, Design Exchange President, Shauna Levy, Sputnik Architects Principal, Peter Hargraves and Toronto City Councillor, Mary-Margaret McMahon.
Registration is now open and submissions are due December 5, 2014 with winners announced in early January 2015. Winter Stations details and submission guidelines