U of T campus to become more walker-friendly

Winners of landscape design competition announced

University of Toronto’s St. George campus downtown is looking to get a makeover that will have increased walkability for students.

On Dec. 9, the university announced the winners of the Landscape of Landmark Quality Design Competition, “for the revitalization of the major public spaces of the historic St. George campus.”

The winners, KPMB Architects, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) and Urban Strategies have been selected to continue to work on the project. Their proposal imagines a car-free chain of paths around King’s College Circle, and a number of oak trees along Tower Road, with granite surfaces in place of asphalt and concrete.

Some students are already expressing their excitement for the renoationproject.

“I think that this plan will improve safety, overall. As someone who walks from class to class, I feel safer with less vehicles being permitted onto certain walkways, especially busier ones,” fourth-year English student Emma Kikulis says.

The competition ran for eight weeks from July to September. The university received more than 600 responses after the initial presentation of the competition. Each team prepared their designs to address the challenges of the project area. Their work was presented to the public on Sept. 28, and was shown at three different locations across the St. George campus.

The winning team will be involved in a vast consultation process with the university’s committees and stakeholders, in planning and fundraising for the development of the restoration. The process will be carried out in a number of phases over the next few years.

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By: Ashleen Grange
Posted: Dec 15 2015 2:37 pm
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