Sherbourne Park Pavilion Honoured for Architectural Design Excellence

Toronto, December 17, 2009 – Waterfront Toronto’s striking Sherbourne Park Pavilion, designed by Teeple Architects Inc., has received an Award of Merit from the 2009 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence.  This marks the first time that a building commissioned by Waterfront Toronto has been honoured for excellence in architecture. The organization has already won more than 25 awards for urban planning and landscape architecture.

The Canadian Architect awards program recognizes architectural design excellence by architects and architectural graduates for buildings in the design stage. The Jury evaluates a project’s geographical and social context, structure, material and environmental features.

“It is an honour to receive this award for architecture on the waterfront from Canadian Architect,” said John Campbell, Waterfront Toronto President and CEO. “With construction of the Pavilion well underway, this award is another indication that our commitment to design excellence is unwavering as waterfront revitalization moves full steam ahead.”

The Pavilion is located in the southeast corner of Sherbourne Park, a majestic 1.5 hectare greenspace at the heart of the emerging East Bayfront community. With its dramatic three dimensional form featuring exterior zinc clad walls and roofing, the Sherbourne Park Pavilion is equally as beautiful from the park, the lake or from neighbouring towers above. Its unique sculptural form was designed to bring together the park’s major features including its 240 metre long water channel and year-round water feature that will become a skating rink in the winter and splash pad in the summer.

Sherbourne Park and its 144m² Pavilion is an important part of the revitalization of East Bayfront. When the park opens in the summer/fall of 2010, it will become an important new gathering space for visitors and local residents who come to meet for a coffee with friends, play, skate or take in views of the lake.

“The design of the Pavilion demonstrates that striking sculptural form and good urban design can be complementary, especially in the case of important civic monuments,” said Stephen Teeple, Principal, Teeple Architects. “As both an exciting sculpture and urban connector, the Sherbourne Park Pavilion will become a key feature of Toronto’s new waterfront.”

The Pavilion is also as functional as it is beautiful. It plays an integral role in the stormwater management process for East Bayfront which integrates important environmental infrastructure into the design of parks and public realm in the area. Stormwater is collected in tanks under the water’s edge promenade, transferred to the Parliament WaveDeck for initial UV treatment and then conveyed to the Pavilion’s basement where strong UV light completes the treatment process. Purified water is then discharged through the park’s water channel and into Lake Ontario.

In addition to Sherbourne Park, construction is underway across East Bayfront, the vibrant new waterfront community which runs from Jarvis to Parliament Streets south of the rail corridor. Canada’s Sugar Beach, Toronto’s second urban beach on the waterfront is on track to open next summer. Work is also nearing completion on East Bayfront’s first commercial building, the new headquarters for Corus Entertainment and construction has started on George Brown College’s Health Sciences Campus. The first private sector mixed-use development in East Bayfront, the Parkside Development, is also underway led by Great Gulf Group of Companies and designed by world-renowned architect, Moshe Safdie.

Design excellence is a core priority for Waterfront Toronto. The organization’s goal is to ensure that everything built on Toronto’s waterfront — from buildings to streets to parks and public art — will set new standards for architecture and public space.

To help achieve and uphold its standards for design excellence, Waterfront Toronto hosts international design competitions, works with some of world’s top architects and landscape designers and incorporates urban design as an important component in its environmental assessment process. The Waterfront Design Review Panel, an independent body comprised of some of Canada’s most prestigious architects and planners also guides and informs the organization’s projects.

The Governments of Canada and Ontario and the City of Toronto created Waterfront Toronto to oversee and lead the renewal of Toronto’s waterfront. Public accessibility, design excellence, sustainable development, economic development and fiscal sustainability are the key drivers of waterfront revitalization.

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For background information on Sherbourne Park, please visit www.waterfrontoronto.ca.

For more information about the Teeple Architects, Inc., please visit http://www.teeplearch.com.

Media Contacts:
Samantha Gileno, Waterfront Toronto