Ontario Place:
A Call for Counterproposals

In September 2020, the Future of Ontario Place Project launched Ontario Place: A Call for Counterproposals—a competition which brought together architecture schools from across Canada to encourage students and young professionals to reimagine Ontario Place and present alternative proposals for the site that engage its heritage value. The competition was open to students and recent graduates, and winners have been selected through both a public vote and an independent jury of scholars, practitioners, and curators.

Over fourty counterproposals were received from students and recent graduates across a variety of disciplines—all of which aim to preserve the heritage values of Ontario Place and reestablish the site as a significant public asset, engaging families, cyclists, pedestrians, and other community groups who have contributed to its vibrancy, while protecting against privatized development. While these counterproposals do not replace a conservation management process, an Indigenous consultation, or public consultation, they play an important role in expanding public dialogues about Ontario Place. The site’s Indigeneity, its heritage values, and issues of environmental justice must be addressed through robust consultations and the drafting of a Conservation Management Plan (CMP), a tool which helps a variety of stakeholders manage future changes to the site by establishing a common framework for why it is significant.

The Future of Ontario Place Project team wants to thank the hundreds of students and designers whose work has reinvigorated Ontario Place with a sense of imagination. Over 1400 public votes were received to determine the winner of the public vote, undoubtedly sparking critical conversations about Ontario Place.

You can view the winners of the jury prize and public vote below. In the coming weeks, we will be highlighting many of the design challenge submissions on our instagram account.

Jury Prize: "Megalandscape Ontario"

By Catherine Howell, Ramsey Leung, and Joseph Loreto

Special Mention: "Alluvium: Water, Habitat, and Community"

by Paul Arkilander, Tali Budman, Ryan Coates, and Connery Friesen

Public Vote: "Toronto's Urban Backyard"

By Blaike Allen, Michael Monaghan, and Kathryn Pierre

You can view all of the submissions here: