THE SNØHETTA PMA Landscape Architects

THE NEST

SNØHETTA PMA Landscape Architects THE NEST

2 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 3 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Executive Summary

THE NEST

Our memories of home are often defined by a range of experiences, from introspective moments, to eating a meal with family and playing with friends. While the ‘front’ of the home directly engages the surrounding neighborhood, it is in the backyard where we truly express ourselves as individuals - freely, creatively and with great energy! The backyard is our snug hideaway, our experimental stage, our NEST.

Our proposal seeks to offer Torontonians a new backyard - a place where the diverse people of this city and its visitors feel a sense of ownership and pride - a space for active play, for engaging with the community and for reflection. It is a place that will offer respite from the urban environment - a haven for people and other creatures to interact.

The NEST is a testament to Toronto’s resiliency as a city that has continually adapted to change and is the next chapter in the evolution of the city’s waterfront. The new park will fill a void by connecting the existing system of parks and public spaces to create a unified vision for this bustling lakefront. Designed to be seasonally dynamic, the NEST will engage visitors throughout the year creating a new precedent for parks in Toronto and the world.

4 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 5 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND

6 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 7 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS How can the NEST adapt to Toronto’s Toronto’s Front Yard radpidly evolving Waterfront? History of Toronto’s Shoreline

Toronto’s Waterfront has evolved from an 2016 Population by Age Group industrial and trading edge to become 6% the front yard of the city. It is a point of 0-14 15% arrival, welcoming visitors and is the face

15% KING STREET STREET WELLINGTON STREET FRONT LAND RAIL PARK REES of Toronto to the world. 15-24 12%

AN EVOLVING WATERFRONT 51% 25-44 Cities need to be innovative and adaptable 31% 1834 to the rapid changes in economy, 17% technology, social and cultural values. 45-64 27% Throughout history, Toronto has proven to be a city of adaptation; The Waterfront 10% 65+ 16% Development emerged, after all, from a Rees st 1859 declining industrial port. Toronto’s vision Lakeshore Blvd Gardiner Expressway and dedication to investment in the public (Ward 20) (Toronto) sphere has redefined the Waterfront as a

world-class destination, making Toronto Queens Quay Blvd one of the most livable cities in the world. With the Waterfront’s transition into a 1886 highly dense, diverse, new neighbourhood comes new demands for the way residents and visitors interact and depend on the public realm. 1912

54.7% 74% 1959

74% of Ward 20’s Ward 20 population population lives in change since 2006 5+ storey apartments with no backyard of 2018 Ward 20 Census Boundaries their own Site

Historical Sections Source: Statistics Canada, 2016 Census of Population. City of Toronto. October 2017

8 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 9 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS How can the NEST be respectful to This is not the Waterfront CONNECT its neighbours yet have its own unique character? While the project site sits very close to the lake edge, it is sandwiched between two major infrastructure corridors - Queens Quay Boulevard and Gardiner Expressway/ Lakeshore Boulevard. This adjacency provides unique opportunities to stitch the urban fabric of the city to the water’s ELEVATE edge. PUBLIC REALM Rees st Lakeshore Blvd Although the site is not the waterfront and CIRCULATION seeks its own unique identity, it would be The existing park site is lot-locked, land- a loss not to unite with this world-class locked and view-locked. While these waterfront in meaningful ways. Queens Quay Blvd could be considered site constraints, the proposal uses the existing conditions Sitting within a system of existing parks as opportunities to offer new ways of and neighbourhood amenities, the site has seeing the waterfront and framing the city. a responsibility to engage in a dialogue with Multiple entries along all edges make the DIFFERENTIATE its neighbors. It needs to extend beyond its NEST a new crossroads within the system limits to connect CN tower, Rogers Centre, of public amenities along this edge. Roundhouse Park, Harbourfront Centre, HTO Park and ultimately the lake edge.

INFRASTRUCTURE Our proposal draws subtle cues of In addition to vehicular infrastructure, materiality and geometry from its neighbors the park has been earmarked for a future and offers complementary programmatic Wet Weather Flow Storage Shaft. Taking elements to further enhance the diversity of advantage of this piece of infrastructure, Gardiner activities in this neighbourhood. our proposal creates new vistas allowing Expressway visitors to see beyond the limits of the Expressway site.

Lakeshore Blvd. Site Queens Quay HTO Park Lake Ontario Lot-locked, land-locked, view-locked: Existing site conditions require a design strategy that lifts and engages users visually with the lake edge

10 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 11 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS How can the NEST Beyond the City Limits thrive in an urban environment?

In addition to a dynamic urban URBAN HABITAT environment, Toronto offers its The Leslie Street Spit, a manmade inhabitants a wealth of unique natural headland across the Waterfront houses environments just beyond the city limits. Tommy Thompson Park. Considered an important bird area, the park is home to ALVARS over 300 species of birds. Alvars are a globally rare habitat located throughout Ontario. They are characterized The Toronto waterfront provides a by a unique community of plants that can unique opportunity to design for urban thrive on a thin layer of soil over limestone habitat because it provides a connected or dolostone rock. Alvars provide habitat greenspace corridor, necessary for urban for unique, rich, and rare species native wildlife to move freely. In the case of to Ontario that are tolerant of flooding birds, tall tree stands, proximity to fresh and drought conditions. The challenging water source, and opportunities for winter conditions in which these plant species foraging are key for their survival in the have learned to survive can be considered urban realm. analogous to our urban environment. Alvars In the Great Lakes Basin Given the proximity to other key bird The NEST takes inspiration from this habitat areas along the waterfront such as unique ecology of alvar pavements, Peter Slip, Spadina Quay, and the Tommy grasslands and shrublands to create an Thompson Bird Research Station, the NEST urban landscape able to thrive with limited seeks to engage with these other habitats resources and maintenance. These alvar in a small, but uniquely urban way to habitat typologies are reinterpreted and provide designed opportunities to foraging applied to the site in a variety of ways and nesting. including pavements, plantings, and the character of walls.

Drawing from the inspiration of alvars offers a unique didactic opportunity to learn about the larger Great Lakes region, its unique ecology, and remind residents and visitors that we are connected to our environment beyond the city.

12 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 13 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS OUR BACKYARDS

14 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 15 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Lake Shore Blvd W Welcome to the NEST Gardiner Expy

15 A Backyard for the People Rees St

11 While the Waterfront has established itself as an ambassador for Toronto’s front yard, the NEST can 10 become Toronto’s backyard for the community. In the same way that the backyard is an outdoor extension of the private home, the NEST offers a reinterpretation 12 14 of the traditional backyard; an intimate - yet public- 18 community space to meet the needs of the high density 06 urban dweller. 04

The NEST offers a central hub among Toronto’s downtown 13 17 and waterfront districts that caters to the diverse needs 05 and desires of the local community. As the backyard to the waterfront, intimate “pockets” throughout the 07 site direct experiences inwards, while still prioritizing 16 09 connections to the surrounding context. These pockets 02 are embedded with opportunities for play for all ages abilities, with life-long play - embedded throughout the 01 various program elements - being the driving factor for 08 the backyard concept.

Finally, a backyard can only exist when it is engaged 03 by and adapted for the need of its users. The NEST Queens Quay W offers a place that demands and inspires stewardship and participation from its users, a place of community ownership and belonging.

1. The Wall Crawl 10. Kiosk Seating 2. The Scramble 11. Bike Parking 3. The Play Nest 12. Backyard BBQ 4. The Tree Walk 13. Future Stormwater Shaft 5. Community Pavilion/Play Pocket 14. The Clearing 6. Bark Park 15. Hammock Grove 7. The Outlook 16. Alvar Gardens 8. Alvar Mist 17. Market Grove SITE PLAN SCALE 1:500 9. Cafe 18. Bird Way

16 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 17 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Backyards have evolved too ... A Neighbourhood The Nest: The Backyard Hub of Toronto’s High Density Neighbourhoods Nested Activities Hub Circa. 1900 Pre-war backyards in Building upon previous conversations North America served primarily a The Toronto Waterfront greenspace space for economic utility, between the city and community, the providing the means for a family is primarily bordered by mixed use to survive (equipment storage, NEST offers a program framework that is buildings and residential neighbourhoods livestock, garden, root cellars) adaptable to the needs and desires of the characterized by higher density locals. residential and commercial architecture. This rapidly densifying area of the city In the same way a backyard can become has the opportunity to shape the way a flexible space to accommodate the residents interact with the public realm. many activities and demographics of a With 96% of the population living in 5+ household, the NEST provides pockets of story apartments within the Waterfront nested activity that provide opportunities Neighbourhood, the backyard for these for socialization and seclusion, are residents must offer users more than just adaptable to a diverse group of users, an open greenspace. Designed to meet the seasonally dynamic, and ecologically - needs of residents living in higher density significant. apartments without backyards of their Circa. 1950 After the war, invest ment in highway infrastructure Explore! Winter Play Fetch! Pre-game BBQ Swing! own, the NEST offers a new and iconic transformed the way people lived. New technologies freed up space public hub for the Toronto apartment in the backyard, and shifting economies reduced the need to dweller. “work the land” for self-sufficiency

Mixed Use + Apartment Neighbourhoods: Neighbourhoods: High scale, 5+ Storeys, residential/commercial, Low scale, primarily single residential, semi- density and scale varies on location attached, or detached homes, residential apartments <4 storys Circa. 1950-80 The backyard becomes an outdoor space of Open Space (Parks + Other) Other: Regeneration, Employment, leisure, and a symbol of the subur ban ideal Institutional - The Nest

18 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 19 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS KIDS A Nest For All

In response to the multitude of program DIVERSITY requirements on the site, the NEST seeks The people of Toronto represent a diverse to create spaces that can facilitate range of ages, backgrounds and interests. numerous programs at once. To develop a The NEST is a response to this logic for combining activities, we created multifaceted community of users - it is a program web, which helped determine designed to engage a wide range of user program drivers and opportunities for demographics and demands by offering a layering programs within one another. This multiplicity of uses in each of its spaces. process revealed play as a driving force Play areas become community gathering for the backyard concept. With play comes spaces, the open lawn can accommodate opportunities for all ages, abilities and active play and relaxation, the plazas

backgrounds. The NEST encourages the allow for seasonal markets and public SENIORS city of Toronto’s residents and visitors to events and the vegetation offers areas of embrace and engage in lifelong play. exploration, refuge and bird habitat. FAMILIES

YOUTH

20 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 21 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Public Art Strategy Public Art Strategy

The public’s experience of art is central the overall park design, but also this idea ART AS STEAM to our public art strategy. How can it be of creating a nesting ground for residents Inspired by Lake Ontario’s ‘steam devils’ – As part of the Maintenance and Operations integrated in a way that allows the public of Toronto. Inspirational precedent the rare cold-weather effect when cold air of Rees Park, we would like to encourage to experience it either seasonally or in projects include: Toshiko MacAdam passes over warm water dense fog forms the client to establish a Temporary Art an engaging and meaningful way? Often, (Knitted Wonder Space, Airpocket - image (image 1), our approach is to integrate this budget that would allow an annual festival especially in Toronto’s downtown core, 1), Jane Hutton and Adrian Blackwell ephemeral experience of fog and stam into celebrating the beginning of winter. permanent pieces have blended into the (Dymaxion Sleep - image 2), Tube Merano the park design. Referencing the work of Inspired by 21 Balançoires (image 5) in public’s daily lives over time, the sculpture (Numen / For Use - image 3), all three 1 2 Fujiko Nakaya (Fog Bridge image 2, Fog Montreal, marking the beginning of Spring, 1 2 disappearing into the urban fabric once are play structures that allow children to Sculpture #08025 “F.O.G. image 3) and we believe that Toronto’s should embrace it’s become too familiar. We believe that engage with the environment in a variety of Ned Kahn (Cloud Arbor - image 4), we see winter, especially by gathering for winter integrating the art piece into the design ways, from clambering sideways, dangling, this piece of art as animating the corner festival on the Waterfront. Commissioning is critical to keeping the piece dynamic to levitating in the tree tops, to floating of the building and floating into the plaza. an artist to design a piece that could and alive. The Public Art Strategy for Rees above sensory garden on the ground CPTED and other safety concerns will be installed only for this annual event, Park is therefore two-fold: A proposal for plane. We are also inspired by the work be addressed in the detail design of the this could bring a special energy to the an early stage in the design process of art of Patrick Dougherty (images 4 + 5), who feature. park when Torontonians are beginning to integration, as well as a proposal for an weaves together tree saplings to create hibernate from the outdoors. Our team temporary art program once the park is an intricate play sculptures that evolve would also like to integrate our steam and open to public. and change over time. We would like the TEMPORARY ART APPROACH water art feature by heating it to explore oppotunity to collaborate with an artist to Our team is excited by the temporary art how other cold countries use geothermal create a new play experience early in the festivals and programs in Toronto (Nuit heat to enjoy the outdoors when it’s cold. ART AS PLAY process so that it peice is integrated well Blanche, Winter Stations, Ice Breakers, Play is central to the design of Rees in the park and play environment. and the Don River Art Program), and This park is an exciting opportunity to Park and we believe is an opportunity to see this park as being an opportunity to introduce a range of artists and ephemeral collaborate with local and international enhance that growing and exciting new art pieces, which would animate the space, artists. This collaboration should come 3 public art experience. creating a dynamic and evolving park for 3 early in the process, and as such, our team local residents and tourists to enjoy. has identified ‘Nesting’ as an experience We believe it will address an important and theme we would like develop and element to the success of public art, explore. Without being too prescriptive, the the scale and diversification – how can theme of Nesting is about creating pieces we create a public art strategy that will that children could climb and occupy, encourage a range of pieces, thinking referencing the bird habitat approach of beyond object-based sculpture?

We see an opportunity in our park design to expand the Bird House creation by a range of multi-media and installation artists. We could implement an annual 4 5 4 5 4house renovation and re-interpretation.

22 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 23 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Recessed floor light Site Lighting and LED strip light Wayfinding

LIGHTING AS WAYFINDING At night the NEST offers a variety of lighting conditions in keeping with its urban environment yet allowing for certain areas to feel more intimate. The street edges and pathways will be lit to appropriate exterior light levels using light poles and bollard lights required for safety and security.

Play areas, tree groves and building faces will be treated with accent lighting such as LED strips to wash vertical surfaces and stair risers and recessed floor lighting in the hammock grove.

In an effort to improve the experience under the Gardiner expressway, uplights Pole lights are embedded in planters around the Bollard lights bents to graze the columns with light making the sidewalk feel safe and secure.

Rather than inundating the NEST with signs for wayfinding, the lighting and fixture placement and design will allow visitors to intuitively circulate through the park. A strong color identity will further reinforce the wayfinding with minimal signage.

SITE LIGHTING PLAN SCALE 1:500

24 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 25 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Bike racks Moveable furniture and umbrellas Site Finishes and Barbeque grills Fixtures Handrails Wood deck IDENTITY AND MATERIALS Loose furniture The NEST will have a bold formal and Drinking water fountain visual presence. This will be further Kids’ play equipment reinforced by a colour identity that takes inspiration from the alvar environment. Three colours (ochre yellow, deep blue and aquamarine/teal) were identified to provide a cohesive yet playful palette for Limestone the park. Black paving locust Robust materials such as limestone paving paving and concrete plank pavers will create a unified floor. Limestone paving will be deployed judiciously to stay within the project budget while providing a natural element to the alvar gardens and water Wood Limestone feature. mulch paving

Key programmatic areas such as the barbeque deck and the play areas will Limestone benches have warmer materials such as wood Birdhouses decking, black locust wood paving and Concrete wood mulch in response to the activities plank pavers in these zones. The ‘Bark Park’ above the architectural pavilion will be finished in a rubberized floor for ease of maintenance.

The birdhouses will add a layer of playfulness and identity to the NEST while attracting birds to perch on or nest inside them.

The play areas will be finished with a combination of natural and manufactured elements such as rocks and boulders for climbing and play equipment such as nets and ropes. SITE FINISHES AND FIXTURES PLAN SCALE 1:500

26 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 27 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Play Pocket Play BBQ Backyard grove Hammock Way Bird The Wall Crawl The Wall The Scramble The Tree Walk The Tree Bark Park Entry Boulevard Shore Lake The Clearing

EAST WEST SECTION SCALE 1:300

28 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 29 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Lake Ontario Lake Boulevard Queens Quay ROW Public Gardens Alvar Birdhouses Shaft Stormwater BBQ Backyard Parking / Bike Grove Tree Boulevard Shore Lake Gardiner Expressway Gardiner

NORTH SOUTH SECTION SCALE 1:300

30 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 31 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS NEST: A Neighbourhood Framework A Nest to Stitch them all Together

As part of a larger system of parks and public spaces along Toronto’s Waterfront, the NEST attempts to close the existing gap between the Entertainment District to the north and the Harbourfront to the south. Cascading gently towards Queens Quay, the park draws your eye up to Roger’s Center and CN Tower, reframing these iconic structures when viewed from the Lake edge.

Our proposal draws subtle inspirations of geometries and materials from surrounding parks and amenities to create a crossroads that unifies the Waterfront to make it whole and intertwined.

Porous edges that extend beyond the site limits will invite people to the park and provide visceral signals to connect to HTO Park and Harbourfront Center to the south.

HTO Park The NEST Gardiner Rogers Centre CN Tower Expressway

Lake Ontario

32 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 33 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Movement The Notches

Bike Racks Street-Side Kiosk Informal Circulation CIRCULATION As a response to the harsh, loud, and A simple hierarchy of circulation paths heavily trafficked portion of the site organizes the programmatic elements in along Lakeshore Boulevard, notches in the park. the landscape provide a generous edge conditions that extends into the site and As a stepping stone to Lake Ontario, the engages with the rhythm of the street. park intuitively draws visitors along Rees Street through layers of vegetation, light- These notches provide opportunities for ing and birdhouses to the Waterfront. At the nesting of program elements and the Northeast corner one can enter the amenities into the site such as bicycle Hammock grove or continue along Rees parking along Lakeshore Boulevard’s Street to arrive at the main circulation future bicycle route and cafe seating spine in the park. This path connects key adjacent to the kiosk. Notches also act as program elements (the market, play areas, a source of informal wayfinding, guiding the alvar gardens and the water feature) users into the site via “local’s” entrances, and connects to HTO park to the south. characterized by carved away portions of the landscape to direct users towards A porous north edge engages bikers and central amenities. pedestrians inviting them to enter the park through a mid-block entry and two smaller entries to the barbeque deck and the play area.

VISUAL CONNECTIONS Along the northwest edge of the site, a grove of eastern white pines and quaking aspens signal the arrival of the NEST to drivers on the Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard.

The sweeping elevation of the architectural pavilion will create a visual magnet to the cafe while simultaneously creating a protected edge for the play area from Queens Quay.

34 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 35 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Branching Out Urban Nests

The NEST, while significantly smaller in While the core program elements are scale and ecological diversity, extends situated within the site limits, the NEST the idea of bird habitat into the urban extends its arms across the property realm. Through a series of thoughtful edges connecting to and drawing from the interventions, the new park aims to offer nuthatch surrounding context. Rather than behaving unique nesting opportunities for a few like an island, the proposal recognizes small bird species allowing visitors to the need to bridge across streets and view and potentially interact with our infrastructures to unite the immediate aerial friends in a new way. purple martin neighborhood and beyond. PURPLE MARTIN Upon looking south from Rogers Centre Purple martins are an at-risk species Plaza, a double row of trees, street lights in the Toronto region. Known to inhabit and birdhouses pull visitors and passersby areas within the city such as nearby High towards the water’s edge. Arriving at the Park, purple martins rely almost entirely corner of Rees Street and Lake Shore on nesting boxes for their housing. While Boulevard the sidewalk expands into a happy to nest around human activity, grove of Balsam Poplars inviting people to purple martins require nesting locations rise gently up to the open lawn providing a that are free from vertical obstruction prospect to the waterfront. such as trees and tall buildings (within 12- 15m). This requires cavity nests that are A series of ‘notches’ along the north edge elevated above the tree level on poles. of the NEST create a rhythm along the street and encourage pedestrians and NUTHATCHES bikers to pause and walk into the park. 12" Other cavity nesting birds such as nuthatches prefer smaller nesting cavities 6" and entrances designed to a specific 8"

size to ward off predators. Unlike purple 2"

martin, nuthatches prefer to nest adjacent 1" 5" 1-1/4" to brush or other enclosures, and do 1"

not require heights above the tree level. Shorter poles nestled within the tree canopy are acceptable, and can serve as an element of wayfinding, and site identity that draws people into the site to interact with the habitat installations.

36 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 37 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Something new, something borrowed In addition to physically extending beyond the site boundaries, the NEST borrows some materials from surrounding parks and the regional environment while still maintaining a strong identity of it’s own. Grill Deck The barbeque deck echoes the materials Wood Decking of the nearby wave decks while the alvar pavement draws from the natural environment in the Great Lakes Region. The brick paving along Queens Quay is Willow Swing pulled into the park thereby blurring the boundaries of sidewalk and park. Willow Urban Nests trees along the west edge of the park create a natural transition to HTO park just to the south across Queens Quay Boulevard. Peter Slip

Wave Deck

HTO Park To Spadina Wetland

Bird Habitat Waterfront Vegetation

38 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 39 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS A Resilient NEST The Next Chapter in Toronto’s Waterfront

//Resilient - the ability to withstand or recover from difficult conditions. Tough, hardy, flexible, adaptable.

Survival in urban conditions cab be harsh. Not only is a city constantly developing its infrastructure, growing, and diversifying, regional ecologies and climates are also in constant flux. As such, a park is tasked with being adaptable to the changing conditions of its surrounding context.

Drawing from the larger region, the site strategy for the NEST was inspired by the resilient qualities of alvar habitat in the Great Lakes Basin. In the same way that alvars have the capacity to adapt to their surroundings and provide conditions for vegetation and animals to thrive, the NEST proposes a strategy that adapts and thrives in the face of evolving waterfront conditions.

As a former parking lot, the NEST draws inspiration from the alvars as condition that creates beauty and life in the face of seemingly harsh conditions. This is most evident in the application of a planting strategy that provides seasonal animation and tolerance to a range of urban conditions.

As a public amenity with stormwater infrastructure needs, the NEST proposes a phased construction strategy and successional planting strategy designed as an opportunity to animate and elevate the park in new ways over time.

40 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 41 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Urban Alvars Planting Strategy

Inspired by the slight lifting and irregular fractures caused by freeze-thaw action in SURVIVE AND THRIVE the limestone rock of alvar landscapes, the The planting scheme will establish NEST follows a formal planting strategy ecologies that will thrive in the specific where instances of lifting or fracturing in microclimates of the park without the the ground plane provide opportunities for need for excessive inputs. The selection planting to emerge. and arrangement of plants takes in consideration sun/shade requirements, Limestone paving, located in the Market slope and aspect, prevailing and Zone and Pavilion entrance, takes on a microclimatic winds and the proximity to the pollutants of Lakeshore Boulevard and similar quality of strategically lifting in ALVAR IRREGULATIES specific areas to cue the emergence of the Gardiner Expressway. Salt, drought and pollution tolerant species are selectively Opportunities for unique moments, planting planting, water, or steam. Irregularities communities, and play terrain to emerge deployed to the harshest locations while EMERGENT PLANTING GRADIENT in the score lines of the limestone from the opening, lifting, and organization of also providing shielding for more sensitive Use alvar pavement openings to control paving suggests a quality of roughness hardscape and capacity for water to influence the species within the park. This strategy and manipulte growing conditions (soil seasonal dynamism in the hardscape. will allow for a diversity of native species depth, irrigation) to allow for successional (grasses, perennials, shrubs and trees) planting and phasing across site. The which will in turn support native birds, ground plane becomes the driver of the pollinators and other waterfront wildlife. planting.

Higher Infiltration

SURFACE FLOW Use surface flow and the ability of the alvar pavement to capture water as a way to inform infiltration locations

42 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 43 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Planting Strategy Planting Strategy

SUCCESSION PICEA GLAUCA LIATRIS CYLINDRACEA SEMPERVIVUM SPP Ecologies are not static, and neither are the specific sensory experiences they nests. Leveraging the unique condition will create: the sound of trembling leaves BETULA PAPYRIFERA SCHIZACHYRIUM SCOPARIUM PARTHENOCISSUS QUINQUEFOLIA of the stormwater shaft construction, of the aspens, the shade of the canopy THUJA PLICATAIFERA SISYRINCHIUM SPOROBOLUS HETEROLEPIS of strong, elegant oaks; the feel of soft the NEST will be an evolving landscape QUERCUS MACROCARPA COREOPSIS_LANCEOLATA GEUM TRIFLORUM and an evolving experience. The planting grasses and the sight of bright perennials. JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA DESCHAMPSIA CESPITOSA POTENTILLA NIVEA strategy will move from pioneer to climax ecologies across the park in relation to Species were also chosen to create QUERCUS_RUBRA JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS POTENTILLA ANSERINA the temporality and permanence of the distinct experiences and structure through RHUS AROMATICA infrastructure of the site. The pioneer all the Toronto seasons. The NEST will be ecology will establish and grow quickly, a year-round park, and the planting will creating a sense of place, enclosure and reflect this and itself be a draw across comfort while the slower-growing climax seasons. In the Fall the leaves of maples, ecologies will continue to evolve. Each poplars, aspen, birches will range from will provide different services, at different yellow to red across the park; in the times, to the human and non-human users Winter, atmosphere and beauty will be of the park. derived from the varying barks of the oaks, birches, aspens and poplars contrasted EXPERIENCE with the structure of the conifers; early Alvars are varied, determined by specific budding perennials and shrubs across microclimatic conditions and ranging from the site will signal Spring; and the full woodlands to open pavements. Similarly, complexity of tree canopy, grasses, the deployment of alvar typologies across perennials and shrubs will be on display in the site will create specific, program- the Summer. based experiences. A successional woodland creates a fast growing BETULA UTILIS JACQUEMONTII hammock forest; pavement planting SPOROBOLUS HETEROLEPIS will define a park plaza and create a COREOPSIS LANCEOLATA unique identity; savanna and grasslands create soft, shaded areas for lounging DESMODIUM CANADENSE and play; shrubland and the edges of GEUM TRIFLORUM a climax woodland create both shelter POPULUS TREMULOIDES POTENTILLA ANSERINA and openness. Within these ecologies, POPULUS BALSAMIFERA POTENTILLA NIVEA specific species are chosen for not only their resilience as noted above but for ACER SACCHARINUM CAMPANULA ROTUNDIFOLIA LAWN DESCHAMPSIA CESPITOSA POTENTILLA_CINQUEFOIL POLYTRICHUM JUNIPERINUM

44 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 45 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Planting Strategy Water Feature

ALVAR MIST Emerging from the alvar paving in front of the architectural pavilion is the NEST’s seasonal water feature. As a continuation of the logic of the alvar paving, limestone blocks are lifted and shifted to create openings. These lifted blocks and irregularities in the ground plane Steam Feature ex. Tanner Fountain, Harvard University Process Model encourage users to climb and interact with SWA Group + Peter Walker the feature as an element of play.

Designed as a seasonally dynamic feature, PIONEER FOREST URBAN ALVAR UPPER WOODLAND/GRASSLAND warm steam emerges from the limestone openings during winter months, creating an element of winter activation. During the hot summer months, a veil of mist emerges to cool and activate the open plaza for passersby.

acer populus populus quercus juniperus quercus picea betula betula utilis jacquemontii thuja plicata saccharinum balsamifera tremuloides macrocarpa virginiana rubra glauca papyrifera

campanula deschampsia potentilla desmodium polytrichum deschampsia coreopsis juniperus potentilla rotundifolia cespitosa nivea canadense juniperinum cespitosa lanceolata communis lawn cinquefoil schizachyrium coreopsis potentilla geum sporobolus liatris sisyrinchium rhus lanceolata anserina triflorum heterolepis scoparium cylindracea aromatica

46 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 47 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS PRE STORMWATER Lawn grading designed to maintain lower Construction Phasing SHAFT PLAN trees at same height post shaft construction Sustainability Targets for the NEST Wood Platform at 0.5m height of public transportation and the bicycle If permeability on the site is allowed As a resilient and adaptable design, the Lawn sloped from top of deck Creating a resilient natural system is at network to access the park. The design of (no cap required), we would like to use to meet pavment grading NEST considers the installation of the the center of our sustainability approach. the park includes a generous street edge permeable materials with a high recycled future Wet Weather Flow Storage Shaft as The landscape strategy is focused on along lakeshore and the future bicycling content. Permeable poured-in-place an opportunity. While the introduction of establishing planting that has an ability trail. Notches in the landscape provide flexible paving and unit pavers, could both the Storage Shaft will impact the park, it to survive and thrive, to establish quickly bicycle parking and seating areas with be included in the design to encourage is designed to retain a consistent identity and create a sense of place in an evolving kiosks where commuters could stop and ground water recharge. prior to and after the installation. landscape. Leveraging on our experience of have a break along their cycling trip. creating a dynamic wetland environment in Ultimately, we believe a successful project PRE STORMWATER SHAFT derelict parking lot not far from the NEST COMMITMENT TO RESEARCHING needs ideas, not only technologies, to Example of wooden platform / deck for Prior to the shaft construction, the east pre-stormwater shaft construction location (Spadina Quay Wetland), our team INNOVATIVE MATERIALS achieve sustainable goals. Our strength side of the site will be designed to accept will research site-specific species and as a team is in our creative skills and the future shaft. The north-east edge resilient that succeed in the harsh Rees The landscape – hard and soft - has management experience to challenge the of the site will have an elevated deck at street location. been designed to be resilient and self- appropriate disciplines, and ourselves, and bench height with a gently sloping lawn sustaining with minimal resource resolve the complex issues in site design nested to the south of it. The landscape areas are able to assist consumption in the long-term. We are and engineering. with and support stormwater management dedicated to researching sustainable and POST STORMWATER SHAFT quantity and quality controls. Our local harvested or sourced material for To install the shaft, the wood deck will team is very familiar with the WWF our park design. While we recognize ipe be disassembled and the wood will be POST STORMWATER Construction boundary Management guidelines for Toronto, as is a popular material for the construction carefully removed for use in the future SHAFT PLAN well as meeting the requirements for of wood elements for the Toronto’s Shaft location options barbeque deck. The new deck will be lifted Toronto Green Standards (version 3). Our waterfront, we also recognize that the Proposed Shaft location to the appropriate height (1.5-2m) to sit team is dedicated to creating a genuinely use of this tropical hardwood material Allowable zone for right above the shaft. The lawn will be center of shaft collaborative process amongst enlightened is controversial. Selecting quality regraded to meet the new deck and the and skilled technical team. SNC-Lavalin materials must be researched through trees will be lifted in the same location to brings expertise to the project in support an analysis of the quality, durability, and meet the new grades. All access hatches of the general engineering of the civil ecological and social sustainability. Our for the shaft will sit within the deck to and stormwater management works. In team would like to investigate sourcing allow for easy maintenance access. The addition, they bring a wealth of experience alternative materials such as salvaged ventilation shaft will be located within the working with and managing risks related teak or a combination of other sustainably planted area with taller plantings around it to contaminated soils and soils with harvested tropical hardwoods like kebony, to prevent visitor access above it. Upper level trees raised problematic geotechnical conditions, thermory, and robinia. Other innovative up to meet new grades similar to those encountered throughout approaches with respect to the building Stairs added the reclaimed portions of Toronto’s construction we would like pursue Retaining wall added waterfront. includes mass timber systems (such as Cross-laminate timber CLT) and other We believe that the NEST contributes to advancements in construction efficiency. some relief on the increasing burdened road infrastructure by encouraging the use

48 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 49 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Architectural Pavilion KIOSK00

A HEARTH FOR ALL The pavilion is designed to be a year KITCHEN00 round facility that supports the local community. Several program elements STORAGE0 are incorporated in the pavilion including a Multipurpose community room, washrooms, a cafe with a full kitchen, storage facilities for the park and a kiosk to activate Lake Shore Boulevard.

Visitors can get atop the pavilion by a sweeiping ramp to get views to the MULTIPURPOSE COMMUNITY ROOM300 waterfront and back to the city at the South east corner of the terrace. The ‘bark park’ takes advantage of the elevation difference providing a space for our canine friends to play while maintaining a safe distance from the kids’ play area.

The cafe faces Queens Quay providing an CAFE KITCHEN0 inviting entrance to passersby while the community/multipurpose room is located adjacent to the play area allowing parents and chaeprones to watch thier kids from CONTROL PANEL indoors during winter months. Accordian ROOM0 CAFE0 style doors allow the community room to open up to the play area blurring the boundary between inside and outside. Washrooms are located close to the kids CHANGING play area to allow for easy access. ROOMS0

Finished in cast in place concrete and WOMEN’S WASHROOM0 cedar wood cladding, the pavilion provides a warm hearth for members of the MEN’S WASHROOM0 community and visitors.

Pavilion Interior Plan SCALE 1:200

54 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 55 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Process + Workshops A vally to move up/down/ through in all dimensions

Forest play/ respite from the city

Successional forest strategy The “bluff” as feature wall + driver of site organization

Park identity from the Gardiner

56 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 57 THE NEST, TORONTO | SNØHETTA |PMA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Possible Strategies

Alvars as lifted + shifted ground ground planes Strong reverse-diagonal gesture across site

ROCKSLIDE PLAY AREA AND PLAZA

Opportunities to engage Provide “front” to with tree canopy Gardiner/Lakeshore