June 2, 2006
Giving in to Pier Pressure
After weeks of debate, the winner of the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization competition was finally revealed tonight. The proposal by Dutch/Canadian amalgam of West 8 (headed by Adriaan Geuze) has won the bid by a unanimous decision.
Their proposal definitely stood out among the five finalists as ambitious, but altogether do-able. At the heart of the scheme was a greenification of the waterfront. The plans include the planting of thousands of trees along and below Queen Quay. Further, the boulevard will be whittled down to two lanes, giving more pedestrian space (and more tree-space,) and a boardwalk along the water's edge. In addition to these infrastructural changes, West 8 proposed a rethinking of the Gardiner, and an eventual dismantling of the Expressway. Finally, Yonge Street will be capped by a ferry terminal, while the CN Tower's footprint will lead into a promenade to the water.
What really gets Torontoist is the lilly pools in the shape of maple leaves... How will that play out for those of us not looking down from the CN tower? More importantly, how will these floating ponds along with the rest of the scheme fare during the eight months of winter winds and chills? (note: apparently the committee was also unenamoured by the ridiculous maple leaf pier ponds. RS)
Either way, Torontoist is quite excited for these possible changes to the waterfront. But at a (current) pricetag of $20 million, many are still skeptical. It does seem, however, that the Revitalization Corporation is ready and eager to break ground soon.
To quench your thirst for more, check out all the slips, weaves and floats of the winning proposal (in pdf.)
[image: West 8 proposal model - Robonto's private stash]
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Nothing will happen with the maple leaf islands becuz they are dumb and if you read the jury's report they said they didn't like them. we have an island already, we have lots of land in the Portlands to build on, the last thing the waterfront needs is another BIG project that is not going to work and is 30 years away from completion.
The rest of the West 8 design is good. It surpasses the others by a fair bit becuz it stays away from making the baordwalk into a major major major project that is full of concept that most everyone will not care about/pay attention to.
People just want to see the lake and not feel crowded, and also not feel ripped off by how much money gets blown on these kind of projects.
My three cents.
What a boring design. It might be the most financially feasible plan, but it's also boring.
At this point, anything is better than what we have.
Honestly, the West8 design was not one of my favourites mostly because it treated the waterfront at a carricature of Canadiana. But with the paring down of the design perhaps this scheme won't turn the waterfront into a lesser Dubai
They should build a pier in the shape of the CN Tower from the base of the CN Tower. As cheezy as that could be, it would be fun.
The CN tower is not cheezy or Canadian enough... It's time for an island/pier combo in the shape of the Queen's bust. Thus, she can keep a watchful eye on Canada and her people. I know I'd feel safer.
Matt, you crack me up. I wish we had piers like the good old days in Toronto, but sadly they were burnt down or destryed by the building of the Gardiner. See my blog http://416style.blogspot.com for a revisit of time gone by.
Look on the bright side, Torontonians. At least you won't have a giant maple leaf having sex with your city.
I really liked part of the design that called for giant glowy blue LED pylons out in the harbour at the end of long piers.