The Finalists of RAW Design’s Winter Stations Design Competition

Looking for a way to beat these winter blues? RAW Design has the answer. Actually, RAW has five answers now that the finalists of the Winter Stations Design Competition have been revealed!

Last October, RAW, Ferris + Associates, and Curio launched the Winter Stations competition, inviting artists, designers, architects, and landscape architects to submit designs to transform the lifeguard stations standing along Toronto’s east end beaches into works of public art. The theme was “warmth,” and given RAW’s history of innovative interactive art, it comes to no surprise that the finalists all involve human interaction.

There were almost 200 submissions from 36 countries, including China, Holland, Japan, Russia, Spain, and the UK. “I was so impressed with the creativity and hard-work demonstrated by all 196 entries. This project has the potential to transform the beach during the winter and I am thrilled to be a part of it,” says Mary Margaret McMahon, Ward Councillor for the City of Toronto, who was also one of the jurors in the competition.

The construction of the winter stations will begin February 13th and continue until the 16th, at which point, they will be open to the public. The stations will be built along Kew, Scarborough, and Balmy Beaches in The Beach neighbourhood (south of Queen Street East between Woodbine Avenue and Victoria Park Avenue). Construction will be carried out by Alexandre Wilson and Alan Johnston of Atelier One Five, Four By Eight Sign Services, Mosher Originals, Ryerson Architectural Science Program, Vir Pasad of Sunrise Carpentry, and Zone Six Design Build.

The official grand opening of the winter stations will be at 2pm on February 16th. The installations will remain open to the public until March 20, 2015. Streetcar Developments is the presenting sponsor, and other sponsors include the City of Toronto, Rockport Group, Urban Capital, Urbancorp, and Worsley Urban Partners.

There are actually four finalists from the competition - the fifth winter station was designed and will be built by the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science at Ryerson University. See below for the list of winter stations that will pop up soon along the east beaches:

Sling Swing by WMB Studio (London/Liverpool, UK)

Via RAW Design

This design will allow winter beach goers to huddle together in the warmth of hanging seating, the colour and fabric reminiscent of a beach lounge chair.

Driftwood Throne by DM_Studio (London, UK)

Via RAW Design

This is another submission from London, but it has a very different approach than the Sling Swing. The structure will be built with reused timber and will provide shelter from the winter cold and wind.

Wing Back by Tim Olson (New Hampshire, USA)

Via RAW Design

This design transforms a lifeguard seating station into one large seat with an enlarged take on the wingback chair style. The back of the “chair” will block the northern winds, allowing for people to cozy up next to a fire facing the water.

HotBox by Michaela MacLeod and Nicholas Croft (Toronto, Canada)

Via RAW Design

This is the only finalist from Toronto. The design mimics traditional ice houses used in northern climates. The dark exterior will ensure that the design definitely stands out along the open shoreline.

Snowcone by Diana Koncan and Lily Jeon and the Department of Architectural Science, Ryerson (Toronto, Ontario)

Via RAW Design

Ryerson’s contribution to the design competition is a fusion of pinecone and igloo. This was the winning design of a competition held within the Department of Architectural Science to come up with a fifth winter station.

Remember, the grand opening of the winter stations is February 16th at 2pm. If you can’t make it out, make sure you visit the stations sometime before March 20th!