Toronto announces 2022 Winter Stations winners

One of Canada’s most well-regarded public arts traditions has returned with a unique selection of brand new designs for the 2022 version of Winter Stations. Toronto’s annual installation program is back with a slate of six winning projects taken from around the world and displayed on the city’s Kew and Woodbine beaches.

Toronto’s lifeguard stations don’t typically get a lot of use this time of year, and so the push to stimulate tourism in the winter months comes in the form of an artistic competition that can draw attention from local visitors as much as it does entries from international design teams. 

Now in its eighth year, the competition is put together through a collaboration between the local firms RAW Design, Ferris + Associates, and Curio. Projects will remain on view for a six-week period until March 31st and strive to be an embodiment of Resilience, which is this year’s choice of theme as selected by the jury that included Brad Bradford, Mark Rason, Bruce Kuwabara, Roya Khaleeli, Jonathan Hilburg, Henry Tyminsky, and Paul Bieska. 

Entries were required to adhere to a $15,000 budget at maximum. An honorarium of $2,500 was provided to the winners. 

Scroll down to see this year’s stand-out participants.

ENTER FACE (cover image) by MELT – Cemre Önertürk & Ege Çakır (Turkey)

"The times of pandemic have changed our habits in multi-scalar aspects, but it especially affected the way of how we perceive the world outside of us. More explicitly, it shifted our communication with people, interaction with the environment and the perception of our experiences by means of a single surface: the digital screen. Via offering the isolated a new version of coexistence, these screens not only made overcoming this challenging period possible but also became indissociable parts of lives as mobile 'interfaces.' The project 'enter-face' aims to reveal the dramatic influence of these screens, therefore, presents a spatial atmosphere that brings people together by means of a common vision\image while isolating them physically. It proposes two dark boxes with distant holes for people to get their upper bodies inside and stay detached from one another. Within the boxes, a textured transparent surface is placed through which the distant visitors, who became a group of viewers now, watch the life outside the box as if they are spectating a never ending moving-image on a screen together."

Wildlife-guard Chair by Mickael Minghetti, with the guidance of Andres Jimenez Monge (France & Canada)

"Inspired by the northern cardinal bird – a specie present all-year round in Ashbridge’s Bay Park – the station seeks to engage the visitors with Toronto’s wildlife. The diversity of species taking refuge in the dense urban environment is both remarkable to observe, and critical to preserve."

THE HIVE by Kathleen Dogantzis & Will Cuthbert (Canada)

"The resilience witnessed among communities in the face of challenging and unprecedented times is paralleled among the honey bee. Honey bee colonies are primary composed of worker bees whose greatest measure of resilience is maintaining hive temperature throughout the cold winter months. This is achieved by adapting worker behaviour to use energy from stored honey to generate body heat within a tight hive cluster. The challenge of keeping the hive warm is met by a colony level response – much like the collaborative community level response that is mounted in the face of adversity. The installation is designed with a hexagonal structure reminiscent of a honey bee colony, and it highlights the colour variation of honey, which is the result of diverse floral resources. Individuals are welcomed to experience the visual diversity of a honey bee hive and work together to form a collaborative community level hive cluster."

S'Winter Station by Ryerson University’s Department of Architectural Science – Evan Fernandes, Kelvin Hoang, Alexandra Winslow, Justin Lieberman & Ariel Weiss, led by Associate Professor Vincent Hui (Canada)

"The forces of nature are relentless. Like the falling snow of the sky and the shifting sands of the beach, the pavilion embraces local wind, snow, and sun conditions. Following these directions of force, the pavilion’s wings embody movement by harnessing snow and mitigating strong winds. Beach towels have been formed into dynamic concrete panels with varying openings. These panels control the amount of light and snow allowed to enter, while also creating unique views outwards. Together, the panels and wings protect users and encourage them to engage with their surroundings. Where the lifeguard station, beach towels, and marine ropes are more frequently used in the summer, the pavilion achieves resilience by employing these objects in the winter. The pavilion acts as a shelter for the community where winter conditions are celebrated by harnessing and adapting to natural forces."

Introspection by University of Toronto John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design – Christopher Hardy, Tomasz Weinberger, Clement Sung, Jason Wu, Jacob Henriquez, Christopher Law, Anthony Mattacchione, George Wang, Maggie MacPhie & Zoey Chao, led by Assistant Professor – Teaching Stream Fiona Lim Tung (Canada)

"In keeping with this year’s theme of resilience, we chose to base our design on the emotions felt throughout the past two years’ worth of quarantine and isolation. Playing with the idea of reflection, we utilize mirrored walls to cast the visitors as the subjects of our bright red pavilion, titled Introspection. While the trellis roof allows the sun to illuminate the interior and its visitors, the red lifeguard tower stands unyielding in the centre of the pavilion, reminding us of the inherent stability within us. In highlighting the subject’s presence, we hope to promote introspection into one’s own emotional resilience as one faces their own reflection. From afar, Introspection appears to float on the beach’s horizon. Behaving like a visual constant in the wild, Introspection and the lifeguard towers remind us that no matter what the whirlwinds of life may bring, they endure it all and remain resilient to adversity."

One Canada by University of Guelph, School of Environmental Design & Rural Development – Alex Feenstra, Megan Haralovich, Zhengyang Hua, Noah Tran, Haley White & Connor Winrow, led by Assistant Professor Afshin Asharim (Canada)

"The Indigenous Peoples in Canada are an inspirational example of resilience due to their ability to withstand adversity and persevere through generations of oppressive colonial policies. Historic injustices persist, including the effects of cultural genocide from the residential school system of Canada. Here we symbolize bridging the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples through gathering. Accomplished through the support of the seven grandfather teachings, represented by the seven rings of the installation, that originated with the Anishnabae Peoples, passed down through generations that ensures the survival of all Indigenous Peoples: Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility, and Truth. Orange represents the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, and the reality that the support of non-Indigenous Peoples, as Indigenous Peoples assert rights to self-determination, will strengthen relations and begin to redress the historic wrongs. Orange is displayed in the ropes where the pattern pays homage to the creation of drums, where the ropes were weaved to honour culture. The installations flow towards the lifeguard stand reinforces the strengthening of the relationship and that the protection of Canada hinges on the unity between peoples. We aim to symbolize movement to a new relationship, one based on mutual respect that honours Indigenous treaties and rights. The road forward is long and nonlinear, but we commit to take the journey together."