Multi-Million Dollar Contest Announced For Redesign Of Nathan Phillips Square

The Mayor and a panel of expert judges are looking for an answer and hope you’ll be among those providing it.  

The city has launched an international competition to help it find a new look for one of Toronto’s most famous open spaces.

The city has decided through a series of consultations that Nathan Phillips Square looks old and tired and needs a face lift. It hosts more than 175 major events ever year (like the annual Citytv New Year’s Eve party, top left) and was even featured as ‘another world’ in a famous episode of Star Trek. 

But just what it should look like is still up in the air.

Which is where you come in.

“The City is asking members of the design community to look at this vital public space with fresh eyes and to instill in us an idea of what Nathan Phillips Square can become as a source of inspiration for all Torontonians,” Mayor David Miller notes in a statement. 

“The City believes that Nathan Phillips Square’s usefulness and beauty can be improved and revitalized.”

Designers, architects, planners, engineers and other experts are all invited to submit their ideas and the winner will be part of the estimated $40 million revitalization Toronto has committed toward renovating the area outside City Hall.

What’s wrong with what’s there now?

“Many of the structures and facilities on the Square have fallen into a state of disrepair, some have been closed and some no longer meet the needs of today’s users and programs,” the city explains on its website. “Examples include: the closed Podium Roof; lack of food services; inadequate pedestrian access at Bay Street and Queen Street West; undignified streetscapes; and underutilized green spaces such as the western area adjacent to Osgoode Hall.

The final project, whatever form it takes, will be overseen by architect Peter Ortved.

“The new design must respect the clarity of the original vision by architect Viljo Revell,” he explains, “and reflect the energy, beauty and dignity that the citizens of Toronto value in this great public space.”

But you don’t have long to make this grand plan a reality. Submissions must be in by November 16, 2006, with the final short list announced a month later.

We’ll know who’ll be circled in this Square when the winner is announced on March 8, 2007.

To find out the ground rules, click here.

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