John Street Square Design Competition Super Party!

OK OK OK! So that might have been THE longest title for an event….but it was still super fun! We came up with 3 extremely unique designs out of dozens of ideas.

The Toronto Entertainment District BIA hosted an open call for design for the John  Street Square, I saw the Design Competition as a way to bring people together to talk about what we envision for a piece of downtown Toronto. What do we see and feel are the true assets of Toronto and what do we want to see more of? What is missing and what is an opportunity waiting for action?

Exhibit Change hosted the John Street Square Design Competition Super Party on October 21, 2010. We brainstormed and put all our ideas on post-it notes as individual concepts. After 10 minutes we had well over 100 ideas that each could have flourished into an amazing downtown experience. We collected and sorted our ideas and come up with several innovative designs. And of course we played with markers, pipe cleaners, play-doh, pom poms and glitter paper because connecting to our playful side is so important and really changes perspectives.

I worked on a design, that we didn’t name. It had a fashion runway, a giant gumball machine and several photobooths scattered throughout the site. I like to think of this as a downtown carnival and amusement destination, it is purely about having fun and really incorporating the energy of the King and John intersection. The marvelous thing about this design and this event is that we are beginning to talk about how citizens can animate the city.

Here are a few quotes from the event:

“For the John Street Square Design Competition, with the help of the group we brainstormed what we’d like to see in the space and then we combined the ideas into different “types” of parks. The park that I got to create was a space that uses digital technologies to bring people together and share. The park contained an interactive labyrinth that would capture on video and project (as well as allow people to tune in online) what’s going on in the maze. There was an interactive jukebox cafe, where you could text in your request and sit with friends sharing music and community. There was a wishing well where patrons could text in their wishes and a donation would be made to charity. We also had a wonderful connection tree that could digitally connect people in the space, and maybe could end up being a meet up place for those who know each other digitally but want to meet in real life.” ~ Jenna Cloughley

 

“Imagine a square that represents the arts and culture found inside the surrounding buildings made public for all to see.  The idea behind my ideal square is to create a public space that functions as an outdoor theatre and meeting area.  Ideally, during the evening and weekends, community theatre companies can present in the space and during off hours, people in the surrounding area can enjoy a quiet area to sit, eat and relax. To create an oasis in Toronto, the square would be full of trees and the seating area would be limestone boulders arranged like theatre benches. ” ~ Melissa Loomans

I absolutely love when events are inspired by the energy in the room and the ideas people bring.