The design competition has kicked off for the Jarvis St. slip. There is merit in all three schemes which will be on display at metro hall in the upcoming days. However, there is something unusual and silly to the Montreal scheme(personal choice) which probably means Toronto's 'design' politicians won't choose it. The only negative is that it does ignore the seasonal change but perhaps that is the global warming and environmental aspect. The remaining schemes offer large urban sculptures in a large space along the lines of a Chicago's urban park with one quarter the population. The so called 'canadarms-shipping cranes' are interesting but their scale lacks a pedestrian connection. If NASA is any indication then the $4 million budget might get you one of them. Eventually, the maintenance will keep it in one position. The 'shimmering wall sculpture' also has scale issues. The condos already give us a waterfront wall-environmental or not. The scheme is at least seasonal. Lastly, the referenced article already awards the project through cynicism and/or personal preference.

Another day in Toronto's design community.

(photos top to bottom- J Rosenberg, DTAH-west 8 and Cormier)