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A Peek at the Giant Sculptures Taking Over Woodbine Beach

Winter Stations 2023

Including a monument honouring Toronto’s most famous raccoon

By Designlines

Celebrating its seventh year of bringing the international design and art community to the shores of Woodbine Beach, Winter Stations is back and just in time for Family Day. The exhibition will showcase the works of eight winning design teams whose unique art installations incorporate the beach’s strategically placed lifeguard towers. From February 20 through April 3, these captivating and interactive sculptures will take over the city’s east shoreline, drawing visitors to the beach during the chill of winter.

Scroll down to check out the eye-catching sculptures you can look forward to seeing at the public exhibition.

Winter Stations 2023 - Toronto Woodbine Beach

Ripple Hut

A Winter Stations tribute to the historical significance of canoes in Canada and around the world, Ripple Hut emulates the form of aggregated canoes and offers an alternative approach to the beauty and craft of their fabrication. Visit on a sunny day to witness the varying perceptions through haptics and the effect of light and shadow.

Design Team: Toronto Metropolitan University Department of Architectural Science – Cesar Rodriguez Perfetti, Jake Kroft, Breno Gualter, Dean Roumanis, Lead by Associate professor Vincent Hui (Canada)

Sculpture honouring Conrad the Raccoon Toronto

Conrad

Do you remember the raccoon who died at the corner of Yonge and Church in 2015? If not, maybe the memorial a community of locals erected in his honour? Though Conrad was just a raccoon, he was human enough to inspire compassion and warmth in the hearts of Torontonians. This sculpture was designed to be a monument in his honour.

Design Team: Novak Djogo & Daniel Joshua Vanderhorst (Canada)

Winter Stations 2023, Toronto art

WE[AR]

WE[AR] is an interactive virtual installation that considers the local and regional contexts in which it is shown to present social issues and it exemplifies the power of unity in the face of societal crises. This Winter Stations showcase addresses the theme of radiance not as dependent on any one item, person, or location; but rather contingent on our capacity to come together to realize both our individual and our community’s full potential.

Design Team: University of Guelph, School of Environmental Design & Rural Development – Saina Amin, Craig Klomp, Lauren Mac Isaac, Catherine Yan (Design team), Mahmoud Afshari, Kaveh Eshraghian, Roozbeh Moayyedian (Tech team), Lead by Assistant Professor Afshin Ashari (Canada)

simply shaped pavilion with carved bright-coloured walls - Toronto Woodbine Beach

the (Home)

Playing with the idea of emitting and transmitting light, Scott Shields’ installation introduces a simply shaped pavilion with carved bright-coloured walls to offer a constantly changing experience throughout day and night. The design manifests this year’s theme of radiance through a simple definition of “Home” and as a meditation of the major economic and political changes impacting the world recovering from years of pandemic.

Design Team: Scott Shields Architects (Canada)

Winter-net art

Winter-net

Freshly fallen snow is typically seen as a blank canvas waiting for humans and animals to leave their mark on it. Winter-net looks to instead utilize snow’s ability to stick to surfaces as an ink for creative expression.

Design Team: University of Waterloo Department of Architecture – Team Members: Chiun Lee, Diana Si, Justin Park, Razmig Garboushian, Likhitha Varikuti, Simon Liao; Faculty Supervisors: David Correa, Fiona Lim Tung (Canada)

Winter Stations 2023

3 Surfaces Pavilion

Visitors can gather around or inside the 3 pavilions that make up this Winter Stations installation by standing, sitting, or laying on the surfaces that call to be inhabited in very different ways. At the end of the life of the pavilion, the boards and wooden structure can be used to build other types of simple street furniture or boundaries for areas such as bridges, streets or gardens.

Design Team: S-AR: Cesar Guerrero, Ana Cecilia Garza, Orlando Garcia (Mexico)

Winter Stations

LIFE LINE

Expect echoes and cheers at this fun and interactive display. LIFE LINE references the built infrastructure of the waterfront, the linear landscape of the beach and the distant horizon line. Participants can place a ball at the top of the tube, and send it rolling through a series of wind chimes, creating a captivating soundscape for others to enjoy.

Design Team: WeatherstonBruer Associates- James Bruer, Nick Roland, Jacqueline Hampshire (Canada)

Delighthouse installation 2023 - Toronto Woodbine beach

Delighthouse

Scaled to house the lifeguard stand within, Delighthouse is clad in timber boards painted vibrant colours. While traditionally lighthouses are warnings, this installation is a welcoming beacon of hope, fun, energy, and pride.

Design Team: Nick Green & Greig Pirrie (United Kingdom)

 


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