Transforming the waterfront into a quintessential destination

DTAH together with West 8 were awarded the Central Waterfront Innovation Design project through an international competition. The primary mandate was to transform Toronto’s waterfront into a world-class destination celebrating Canada’s lakefront experience. As lead consultants, we carried out multiple phases of the award-winning design through to successful implementation.

There are three key layering elements. The first is the primary waterfront, an 18m wide, tree-lined, continuous, public promenade and boardwalk along the water’s edge, with timber foot bridges across the slips. Located at the intersections where the main city streets meet the water, it expands the public realm and creates new gathering and social spaces that are carefully conceived using undulating curves that form ledges for seating and new routes to access the water’s edge.

The second is the floating waterfront: pontoon piers extending from the water’s edge promenade. The third is Queen’s Quay Boulevard and the slip-ends. Two lanes of traffic south of an improved and extended LRT line are converted to a continuous, tree-lined, pedestrian mall and an extension to the existing recreational trail, beside a storm water filtration gallery. At the slip end public spaces, undulating wooden decks are cantilevered over the water.