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Toronto Design Competition hopes to lure people to the beach in the dead of winter

Toronto Design Competition hopes to lure people to the beach in the dead of winter

Believe it or not, Toronto’s beaches are not a particularly huge draw during the winter months—insiders say it has something to do with temperature. To try and change that—to make the city’s beaches seem appealing even in frigid temperatures—some optimistic Canadians have launched an international design competition to transform the city’s sandy stretches.

The inaugural Winter Stations Design Competition was launched last fall and invited artists, designers, architects, and landscape architects to turn the city’s “utilitarian lifeguard stations” into “whimsical pieces of wintertime public art.” Fittingly, the competition asked those entering to incorporate the concept of warmth into their designs. Check out the four finalists below alongside a proposal from the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science at Ryerson University. These five installations will be on display from February 16–March 22.

Sling Swing by WMB Studio

From the competition website: A playful take on how the iconic deckchair might adapt itself to the cold winter months, Sling Swing is meant to huddle beach goers together in pockets of warmth. The colourful canvases evoke a sense of summer beach nostalgia, while the breeze ensures a continuously animated installation. WMB studio is a London and Liverpool based design collective founded in 2013 with a background in architecture, design and art.

Driftwood Throne by DM_Studio

From the competition website: Using reused timber, DM_Studio’s design transforms the modest lifeguard stand from a simple, discreet metal object into a strong, faceted sculptural form that provides seating and shelter from the winter wind. Founded by Daniel Madeiros, DM_Studio is an emerging London based practice aiming to breach the boundaries between architecture, art and design.

Wing Back by Tim Olson  

From the competition website: Appropriating the tall, swept typology of a wingback chair, this installation creates an over-sized seating structure designed to gather people together. The tall wall provides shelter from northern winds, and a central fire ring will provide warmth in the depths of winter. Tim Olson is a designer whose work ranges in scale from architecture to furniture and art installation. He currently works for the design-build company Bensonwood in New Hampshire.

HotBox by Michaela MacLeod and Nicholas Croft

From the competition website: HotBox mimics the typology of the ice house traditionally used in northern climates, heightening the contrast between inside and outside and allowing visitors to experience warmth through visual, auditory, tactile, and associative means. The design was submitted by architects Michaela MacLeod and Nicholas Croft who began collaborating on installations and public art projects two year ago.

Snowcone by Diana Koncan and Lily Jeon and the Department of Architectural Science, Ryerson

From the competition website: Snowcone mimics the protective organic form of the pinecone and marries it with the simple, effective technology of the native igloo. Snowcone was the winning project of a design charette held within the Department of Architectural Science to chose the fifth Winter Station. Fourth-year undergraduate students Diana Koncan and Lily Jeon are leading the design.

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