PLANT Architecture has recently been recognized with an Honorable Mention in the City of Toronto’s Urban Design Awards. Held every other year, the awards acknowledge the contributions design has on the local milieu. PLANT’s revitalization of the Nathan Phillips Podium Square (part of Toronto’s iconic City Hall by Viljo Revell) introduces a greenscape to the podium previously occupied solely with a vast hardscaped plaza.
New life has been breathed into the space through strategic colorful plantings that contrast with the greyed exterior of the city hall, along with pathways designed to induce and draw public interaction. The jury was acute in pointing out official ambivalence about public access to the roof by way of remnant barricades and a lack of signage indicating the new opportunity just above street level. However, the design marks a unique rejuvenation of a space that has been virtually absent of human occupation for some time. As testament to the efforts of PLANT they were also recipients of the 2011 CSLA Regional Honor Award.
See our original article on the Nathan Phillips Podium Square here.
