Nathan Phillips Square Redesign Finalists All Stress Green Space

It’s arguably the centre of Toronto and, after the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre, the city’s most famous landmark. It was even featured on a memorable episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”.

So when experts began considering ways to change the look of Nathan Phillips Square, the entire city took notice.

Toronto opened up the competition last year to architects bidding for one of the most prestigious jobs in their history.

The finalists have been cut to four, and each has a startling and different vision of what the public space should look like.

Among them:

-A garden-like setting with an accent on trees. There would also be a skating pavilion as well as restaurants and a revamped Peace Garden. To see the plans, click here.

-Another wooded area with a glass room – complete with a fireplace. A new pond would join the existing skating rink.  To view these models, click here.

-An environmentally friendly structure that would collect rainwater and distribute it back to the pond, as well as watering new plants and shrubs. It also makes way for a new Peace Garden and a special meeting place for people to gather. For a closer look, click here.

-The final selection consists of a large raised moveable garden leading to a restaurant surrounded entirely by glass and an elevated walkway.  You can see the images here.

It’s a multi-million dollar project that will shape the face of Toronto for years to come. And those behind the bids believe it’s well worth the money.

“We don’t have many public spaces,” explains architect Andrew Frontini. “Dundas Square is quite commercialized. And Nathan Phillips Square is the only public space in form and size and it is important to be proud of that space and have it work well.”

The winning design will be picked on March 8th by a panel that includes former Mayor David Crombie and author Michael Ondaatje. You can get a closer look at the plans now at City Hall.