The 2010 Annual Design Competition:

REASSEMBLY REQUIRED — shaping urban experience

— by Kayla Preston-Lord, first-year student, Faculty of Art



Winning design by Team 27.How do we breathe life and richness into urban space?

Organizers of the university’s annual Design Competition recently put this question to the OCAD community. The competition challenged students to re-imagine an urban space through which many of us pass every day.

Faculty of Design members carefully chose the site, a wide-open, cemented “plaza” in front of the 52 Division Toronto Police Service building on Dundas Street, between St. Patrick and Simcoe streets. With just the sidewalk, the street and the police station to use as boundaries, the challenge was immense: how might student design teams turn this forgotten city plaza into a functional, creative space that facilitates social experience?



Night view of the winning design by Team 27.Students were given approximately 97 hours — from the Thursday afternoon until the Monday evening (January 21 to 25, 2010) — to research, conceptualize and construct their vision of the revitalized plaza. The teams, each consisting of four to six students from both art and design faculties, were not left without inspiration. Will Alsop, British architect of OCAD’s famed Sharp Centre for Design, returned to the university for the competition’s pre-launch public lecture. Toronto City Councillor Adam Vaughan spoke to students as well, providing local perspective and context. Finally, Faculty of Design professors and guest volunteer critics assembled in OCAD’s Main Building, making themselves available throughout the weekend for mentoring and advice.



Team 27 winners. Photo: Lino Ragno.Judging from the impressive results, OCAD students flourish — even when under immense time constraints. First place in the competition, which was accompanied by a $2,000 purse, went to “City 52 Division,” designed by Team 27. Ji Su Kim, Shin Yeong Steve Kang, Hyunjin Cho, Vera Leung and Christy Yu created a design for a recessive, geometrically cut pathway, using words like “trimmed, carved, shifted and distorted” to describe and define their form. The team chose to place its structure (conceptually, anyway) below street level, so that pedestrians would enter on a downward incline. This would combat the strong winds that often blow through this space. Laminated glass was chosen as a medium, for its interactive qualities. “Glass is an extraordinary material,” wrote team members, noting its transparency, a characteristic of glass that allows it to “respond” to changes of light through the seasons.



Team 26 design for 'Data Pavilion'.The progressive “Data Pavilion,” which was constructed by Team 26, took home the second-place prize of $1,000. The dominant feature of Team 26’s design is its paneled roof, which allows panels to shift according to weather patterns. Team 23’s fairytale-like “Forêt Blanche” was awarded $500 for placing third. This design featured a sculptural, tree-like structure that creates a tranquil play of light and dark for would-be Torontonians to pass through. Team 12’s “Respect for Rich History. Anticipation of a Bright Future” won first honourable mention, while Team 18’s “Dundas On Air” and Team 3’s “Hermes Talas” were awarded second and third honourable mentions respectively.

A survey of winning entries in the 2010 Faculty of Design competition offers the community a glimpse into the imaginative minds of the designers of tomorrow. Immersed as they are in Toronto’s downtown core, OCAD students are clearly a part of the city and it’s exciting to see them applying their creative problem-solving skills to its infrastructure. Although a city like Toronto is known for its rather grey cityscape — and it’s not alone — designers have the tools to transform lacklustre urban space into accessible, functional and engaging space.



Faculty of Design professor Stuart Reid at the competition award reception. Photo: Lino Ragno.Faculty of Design professor Stuart Reid found that the words of world-renowned architect Louis Kahn provided a vision for students to aspire to. “Kahn said that a city is a place that empowers you to sense your possibilities and shape your future,” Reid explains. “He said you could feel the city’s energy, and plan your life’s path when you walk through it.”

View a slide show of the winning designs.

Download the full list of winners (PDF).