PARK VERT
"Park Vert" celebrates the community's desire for a green oasis and its love of Toronto's urban forest. The park is conceived as a series of layers that unfold for the visitor - both from the ground up and the outside in - revealing new experiences in every direction. Arriving at the site from the bustling city, Park Vert invites visitors inward through a richly-planted, topographic frame that buffers street noise and draws you into a quiet, open plaza, called the "Clearing." Looking up from the forest floor, the visitor takes in the "Tree Walk," a light walkway that encircles the site. The Tree Walk incrementally lifts people a level up from the busy ground plane of the city and into the realm of the tree canopy, where they can appreciate the sounds of birds and capture a long view into the serene, blue water of the Inner Harbour. From sky to ground, the park's three vertical layers are defined by:
An Immersive Green: Urban Forest
Toronto's urban forest serves as vital urban infrastructure, capturing water, offering summer shade, and providing critical habitat for local species. Park Vert reinforces that critical canopy, creating a diverse and layered forest within it that is planted, over time, for maximum diversity and climate resilience. More than just a functional element, the selected tree palette is choreographed with the unfolding of the experiential tree walk, shifting from the forest floor through the branching structure of the trees and up into the loose leafy, canopy. The plantings also mimic the native transect, moving from wet lowland to dry upland species as one ascends up the Tree Walk.
(From competitor's text)
This design was clear and well-organized and the Jury appreciated the simple singular move expressed by the tree walk. The tree walk was seen as a thoughtful way to draw in the history of the ramp, and the potential of ascent and promenade through the tree canopy was felt to be a special and delightful experience.
The Jury was not convinced, however, that the tree walk was the right proposal for the scale of this site. The dead-end of the ramp was felt to pose a safety challenge, and the structure was demanding from a maintenance and operations perspective. Overall the Jury found the scheme well-developed and elegant, however they felt that the tree walk might have worked better as an element in a larger park.
(From jury report)
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