View all 378 entries for the Winter Stations Design Competition!

For the second year in a row, RAW Design, Ferris + Associates and Curio have seen an incredible response to their callout for entries to the Winter Stations Design Competition.

This year, the amount of entries nearly doubled as they received 378 entries from 49 different countries! The theme this time around is Freeze/Thaw. Designers, artists, architects, and engineers were asked to come up with a design that commented on the changing climate conditions in Toronto and around the world.

THERMO - note: all featured entries chosen randomly.

The designs will be transforming a series of lifeguard stations standing along Toronto’s east beaches area. In addition to being stunning public art installations, the designs are also interactive, encouraging people to venture outdoors during the winter months.  

“The international design community has continued to impress us with its ambitious submissions for this year’s Winter Stations competition,” says Ted Merrick of Ferris + Associates. “Our hope is that the creativity and playfulness in the selected designs will draw people outdoors and inspire people to look at the spaces around us from different perspectives.”

Snow Bubble

An Indiegogo campaign has been launched in order to award more winners this year and transform even more lifeguard stations. Supporters will receive special perks, such as posters, postcards, and special meet and greets with the winners.  

“Our goal is to eventually transform every hibernating lifeguard stand along Toronto’s east beaches,” says Roland Rom Colthoff of RAW Design. “It’s only through the generous support of our partners and sponsors that we have been able to launch and grow Winter Stations.”

“We’re trending towards doubling the number of stations that were built in year one,” Merrick adds. “The hope is that crowdfunding can help us push that growth even further.”

Iceover

This year’s sponsors of the Winter Stations Design Competition are the City of Toronto, Demirov Fine Homes, the Design Exchange, Diamante Developments, Fieldgate Homes, Great Gulf, the Ontario Association of Architects, Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, The Rockport Group, and Urban Capital.

We think it’s fantastic that so many new home building industry members have taken notice of this design competition and are supporting it. Building a better Toronto is all about attracting young talent, establishing an international reputation for forward thinking designs, and developing a strong community on a local level.

Head in the Clouds

If you recall, Ryerson University participated last year and created a stunning design called Snowcone by Diana Koncan and Lily Jeon and the Department of Architectural Science. This year, three additional schools are participating, including University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, OCAD University’s School of Environmental Design and Laurentian University's Faculty of Science, Engineering and Architecture.

The winners will be announced early in January 2016 by a panel of jury members including Jane Hutton, Landscape Architect/Assistant Professor, Harvard University GSD; Alex Josephson, Architect/Co-founder, Partisans Architecture; Lily Jeon and Diana Koncan, Winter Stations 2015 Winners (mentioned above); Catherine Osborne, Editor-in-Chief, Azure Magazine; and 2016 Jury Chair Lisa Rochon, Senior Fellow, Global Cities Institute UofT and Founder of Friends of the Beach Parks.

OLO

The Winter Stations will be unveiled on February 15, 2016 and will remain open to the public until March 19, 2016.

To view all of the Winter Stations entries, visit winterstations.com and don’t forget to support the Indiegogo campaign!

Featured image: Lightstand