Ten finalists chosen in student challenge to design

bicycle stands for new Queen & McCaul "gateway"

March 6, 2009



Site context, 226 Queen Street West. Image courtesy of architect Robert Chang.In late February, OCAD students were challenged to design bicycle stands for the redevelopment of a property at the northwest corner of Queen and McCaul streets in Toronto.

Continuously evolving, McCaul Street is home to OCAD, the Art Gallery of Ontario and numerous other galleries and businesses that are major cultural contributors to the city of Toronto, often referred to as the city’s “Art Corridor.” The base of McCaul Street meets with Queen Street, and represents the beginning of the Queen Street West neighbourhood, another major art and culture centre of the city. Recognizing this, the owner and architect of the property at 226 Queen Street West wanted to support the creation of a signifier of this vibrant corner of Toronto by widening the pedestrian sidewalk for enhancement to create a “gateway” to these two important neighbourhoods, and to support the greening of Toronto by providing infrastructure for bicycle users.

To this end, OCAD students were challenged to come up with new ways to enable the enrichment of their environment through the greater recognition of art and design within the urban fabric of the city. The challenge cited examples like artist David Byrne’s bike rack sculptures in New York City, and asked students to consider how bicycle racks can be highly conceptual urban pedestrian sculpture, as well as both feasible and functional.



Artist’s rendering of the proposed redevelopment of 226 Queen Street West. Image courtesy of architect Robert Chang.Five awards are being offered, including a $6000 first prize aimed at seeding the winning idea’s design development and movement towards implementation. Construction costs will be carried out by the site developer. Second prize winners will receive $3000, third prize will take home $2000 and fourth and fifth place winners will each receive $1000.

The first stage of the competition saw 35 submissions by individuals or teams of students from across OCAD’s art and design programs. Ten finalist designs were chosen and will advance to the next round of the competition, which asks the students to create scale models of their designs for consideration and involves a presentation to a jury and audience of community members.

The top ten finalists are:

The winning entry will be announced at a press conference expected to be held in April.