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News and ideas from STUDIO tla published quarterly.

News

Developing a Public Realm Vision for Pickering City Centre

All great designs start with a vision. And some of the very best visions for complex designs that need to account for multiple objectives often develop their focus in a collaborative, collegial environment involving different perspectives. This is how our team worked with the City of Pickering to develop a public realm vision for Phase 1 of Pickering City Centre–a 55-acre, master planned, mixed-use community by developer CentreCourt.

Learn how STUDIO tla is leading the design of outdoor spaces with a larger consulting team that is working together to convert a suburban mall into a vibrant urban core and transit centre.

Mino Bimaadiziwin, Good Life, 2024 Featured in Design Lines Magazine

Photo credit: Shlomi Amiga

Mino Bimaadiziwin, Good Life, 2024–a 50m x 7m art installation that is under construction at Exhibition Place’s Centennial Park–was recently featured in Design Lines Magazine. In the article, Indigenous father-son duo August and Luke Swinson–with whom STUDIO tla collaborated to help bring their artistic vision to life–offer insights into the inspiration and approach that led to the development of the landmark public art piece that will be visible from the Gardiner Expressway.

Two STUDIO tla Projects Recognized with Texas ASLA Awards

STUDIO tla received two awards from the Texas ASLA during their annual conference:

• Scholar’s Green Park Phases 1 & 2 (Mississauga, ON) Honor Award: International – Design Construct

• Daphne Restaurant Terrace (Toronto, ON) - Merit Award: International – Design Constructed

Daphne Restaurant Terrace is a 550 sq. ft. dining and lounge space that is the adaptive reuse of a space between two historic buildings in downtown Toronto, while Scholars’ Green Park is an innovative, 3.3-acre urban park that is a shared space for the City of Mississauga and Sheridan College.

New Park at 70 Croatia Street Featured in blogTO

blogTO featured 70 Croatia Street Park in a post highlighting the two unique design options developed by STUDIO tla in conjunction with the City of Toronto, developers Fitzrovia and Hazelview Investments, and ideas and feedback generated through a rigorous community engagement process.

The post details various features of both concepts, including amenities, sustainable features and the indigenous stories that informed the designs for the future 38,500 sq. ft. park. For example, one design option called "Moon Park: Cycles + Stories" is inspired by Indigenous values of star teaching and the stories of the 13 Grandmother Moons.

Staff Spotlight

Earlier this year, James Hughes, STUDIO tla’s Manager of Construction Contract Administration, was appointed to Associate. With a well-rounded background that ranges from guest lecturing at the University of Guelph, to contributing articles to landscape architecture platform The Landscape Library, to inspecting construction activities on project sites, James brings a diverse and well-informed perspective to his role.

We caught up with James to learn more about his responsibilities and the team he leads at STUDIO tla.

Ideas

Providing Accessible Spaces is a Moral Imperative and a Strategic Investment

By Barbara Balfour - Freelance Journalist

The growing need for greater accessibility in public and commercial spaces was explored by journalist Barbara Balfour in an article published in the Globe and Mail. As part of the article, Ms. Balfour interviewed our own Jeffrey Craft to learn how our approach to integrating inclusive design principles into public realm projects in Toronto and Hamilton–among other municipalities–is helping to create greater access to public spaces for more community members.

A Sense of Place—Revitalizing Downtowns Through Smart Placemaking

By Ron Nyren - Architecture, Urban Planning Real Estate Writer

Photo credit: ULI

Placemaking has the potential to help revitalize downtowns and to increase inclusivity and equity. In this interview with several members of ULI’s Placemaking Council, the role that placemaking plays in rethinking and redesigning outdoor spaces is explored through analyzing the latest trends and success stories such as New York City’s Bryant Park and Baltimore’s Harborplace.

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