What Do You Think of the 5 Designs for the New Ferry Terminal?

Five teams of designers and architects presented their proposals for the new Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and Harbour Square Park in Toronto. The presentations took place in the City Hall rotunda, where media and the public gathered to hear from the five teams, members of Waterfront Toronto, and Mayor John Tory and Deputy Mayor Pam McConnell.

The competition launched in November 2014. The five finalists represent the best of 33 entries from 12 countries, each demonstrating unique approaches to this very important Waterfront site. The goals behind each design include:

• Creating an iconic and welcoming ferry terminal
• Promoting continuous waterfront access
• Improving queueing areas for the ferry
• Enhancing Harbour Square Park
• Connecting seamlessly to the downtown core
• Promoting sustainable development
• Providing universal access to people of all ages and abilities

At 11.4 acres, this site isn’t the largest in the city, but it is definitely one of the most important. Approximately 1.3 million use the ferry every year, that’s more action than some of Toronto’s most prominent museums. The Ferry Terminal is the first impression visitors arriving from Porter airport will have if they take the ferry as opposed to the new tunnel. The Toronto Islands are also a very important part of the city and it shouldn’t be a confusing and unpleasant experience to wait for the ferry. The terminal structure is important, but the public realm is equally so, and the way that this area connects with the city streets is definitely something to consider when analyzing the proposals.

Waterfront Toronto has assembled a jury of design professionals who will review the finalists’ entries and then recommend a proposal or perhaps even a combination of proposals. Waterfront Toronto and the City of Toronto will have the final say.

“I invite all Torontonians to get involved in creating an imaginative public space, and their opinions on the five designs are an essential part of the design competition,” says Deputy Mayor Pam McConnell, City Councillor, Ward 28. "The final vision will create both an extraordinary gateway to the Island for residents and visitors, as well as an important gathering place that will become the centerpiece of the waterfront.”

Take a look at each proposal below, then continue on to Waterfront Toronto’s website for more details and to offer your input about the new Ferry Terminal.

1) Clement Blanchet Architecture (Paris) + Batlle I Roig (Barcelona) + RVTR (Toronto and Ann Arbor) +Scott Torrance Landscape Architect Inc. (Toronto)

Via Waterfront Toronto

Via Waterfront Toronto

2) Diller Scofidio + Renfro (New York City), architectsAlliance (Toronto) and Hood Design (Oakland)

Via Waterfront Toronto

Via Waterfront Toronto

3) KPMB Architects (Toronto), West 8 (Rotterdam), Greenberg Consultants (Toronto)

Via Waterfront Toronto

Via Waterfront Toronto

4) Quadrangle Architects (Toronto), aLLDesign (London), Janet Rosenberg & Studio (Toronto)

Via Waterfront Toronto

Via Waterfront Toronto

5) Stoss Landscape Urbanism (Boston), nARCHITECTS (New York City), ZAS Architects (Toronto)

Via Waterfront Toronto

Via Waterfront Toronto