A new train station by Toronto-based architecture studio PARTISANS has been approved for The Orbit, Canada's city of the future project. Designed to be a new central neighborhood for the Canadian town of Innisfil, the station was made in response to the potential arrival of high-speed mass transit that connects to downtown Toronto. The Transit Hub aims for rapid and responsible growth, fostering sustainable development and preserving the core attributes of Innisfil's landscape and community.
Over the next 3-5 years, PARTISANS will collaborate with the Town of Innisfil to develop the Orbit and the immediate surrounding buildings including residential towers, retail and hospitality spaces, a bus and car route, and green space throughout with public art installations. In June 2019, PARTISANS won a public RFP competition from the Town of Innisfil to create the vision for the Orbit.
Located 60km north of Toronto, Innisfil is one of the fastest-growing communities in the region as people seek more affordability outside of the city. "The Transit Hub is designed to integrate landscaping that converts the central infrastructure of the Orbit into a park-like space, a nod to the rural surroundings of the community. The Transit Hub’s roof itself becomes a landscape, functioning both as a central hub of transit and a dynamic center of interaction and recreation for the surrounding community." The direct area surrounding the Transit Hub will include residential towers with over 900 units, space for retail, employment, and flex spaces to evolve with uses supporting social programming, restaurants, and wellness.
“We are excited to be forging ahead in bringing this new, innovative community to life that will be unlike anything else the world has seen before,” said Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin. “At the center of the Orbit is the Transit Hub and this Council has taken a major step in building a new transit hub in Innisfil that will be critically-important post-COVID, not just for our economic recovery – but for decades to come.”
News via PARTISANS
