Montréal vs. Toronto: Which is more creative?
So, in Montréal we have the Turcot and have to fight tooth and nail to convince our ridiculous leaders to stop or at least slow down all development until we can get a better handle on what we are planning. It takes our everything just to get them to not screw up too much.
In Toronto, they have the Gardiner Expressway and what do they do in order to re-imagine its future? They hold a design competition to see who can come up with the most innovative and feasible solution (or series of solutions).
Here is how they frame the design problem:
The elevated Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway has been a controversial element of the Toronto skyline since it was completed in 1966. In recent years, public debate has been intensifying over whether its future should be a renovation, relocation, or complete removal. While many plans and proposals have been put forth over the years, none have produced a sufficiently compelling vision for a new urban identity and truly functional transportation system.
Their response to this impasse is to seek input from:
the world’s most talented and creative design and engineering professionals in developing bold new concepts for the future of the elevated Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard, including the adjacent lands. The goal of the Innovative Design Competition is to produce a bold solution or series of bold solutions that can generate broad consensus on the best way forward for the eastern portion of the elevated Gardiner Expressway.
Who are these kooky utopists willing to waste so much time imagining far-fetched illustrations for real-world ‘concrete’ problem? Waterfront Toronto and the City of Toronto.
Huh. Go figure. (For submission details, go here).
What’s the latest with our brilliant Turcot plans, anyway? Oh ya, still fighting to get a word in edgewise…
via: arch daily
