Winter Stations hit the beach

After a one-year hiatus, Toronto’s popular Winter Stations design competition is back in full force with its 2022 winners on view at Woodbine Beach. Three designs are handpicked from hundreds of submissions worldwide and three designs are from students at Ryerson University, University of Toronto and University of Guelph. Under the theme Resilience, these unique designs transform the beach and celebrate our collective tenacity and resilience to the challenging and unprecedented times we all experienced due to the pandemic. 

Scroll down to see what is on view this month now along the waterfront.

 

ENTER-FACE 

Digital screens have offered people a way to connect during times of isolation this past year, and theyève become an important and inseparable part of our lives. A play on the word interface, this station aims to reveal the dramatic influence of these screens, creating an atmosphere that brings people together through a shared vision or image while isolating them physically. An immersive experience, the structure has two dark boxes with distant holes for people’s upper bodies to move into while staying detached from each other. Inside the boxes, there is a textured transparent surface so that the distant visitors, who have now become a group of viewers, can watch life outside of the box as spectators together.

 

Wildlife-guard Chair 

Inspired by the Northern Cardinal, a bird found all-year-round in Ashbridge’s Bay Park, this station connects visitors to Ontario’s wildlife. The bird species taking refuge in the city of Toronto are both remarkable to observe and critical to preserve. This design encourages people to stop and think of how wildlife surrounds us on a day-to-day basis – whether noticed or not. Wildlife-guard Chair is temporarily showing along Hamilton’s Pier 8 as part of Winterfest and will move to the main site in early March.

 

THE HIVE 

A nod to hard-working honeybee colonies, this hexagonal station mimics a beehive. The collective resilience witnessed among communities in the face of unprecedented times is reminiscent of how honeybees work together in clusters to maintain hive temperature during the cold winter months. The designers welcome visitors to experience the visual diversity of the beehive and to form a community hive cluster on the beach.

 

S’winter Station 

Transforming a lifeguard station into a winter-fitting pavilion that doubles as a shelter for the community, this design is a direct response to the forces of nature. Its wings embody movement by harnessing snow and strong winds, and its concrete panels with varying openings tightly control the amount of light and snow allowed to enter, creating unique views for visitors to enjoy. 

 

Introspection 

Mirrored walls in this station cast visitors as subjects of the bright red pavilion and the reflections encourage introspection into our own emotional resilience. . An unyielding red lifeguard tower stands still in the centre, representing the inherent stability within all of us.

 

One Canada 

A visual tribute to Indigenous peoples in Canada, this station pays homage to the creation of drums and unity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples through gathering. The structure’s seven rings represent the support of the seven grandfather teachings passed down through generations in Indigenous culture. Ropes, in the colour orange are symbolic of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, and its zig-zag pattern represents the creation of drums. The installation flows towards the lifeguard stand in a way that reinforces the strengthening of the relationship between these two communities – one that is based on mutual respect for Indigenous treaties and rights in Canada. 

See the 2022 winners of Winter Stations before they go and stay tuned for details abput next year’s competition at https://winterstations.com/.