West 8 + DTAH’s winning international competition design for Toronto’s waterfront echoes the spirit of the archetypal Canadian shoreline of trees, a dock and a mirrored lake, in the form of three key layers.
The first layer is the primary waterfront – an 18-metre wide, tree-lined, continuous public promenade with timber boardwalk and bridges along the water’s edge. The second is a floating waterfront of pontoons and piers, the third a rejuvenated Queen’s Quay Boulevard with seven timber wavedecks, extending and enriching the public realm.
The overall design will develop a new ‘green foot’ for Toronto, with native hardwood trees and a new language of public space that brings Torontonians into closer proximity to the water.
