Ontario Place – Narrating Past, Present, & Potential

‘Ontario Place – Narrating Past, Present, and Potential’ is an exhibition of compiled narratives and design speculations that invite members of the public to contribute their own memories, ideas, and stories.

Ontario Place, designed by Eberhard Zeidler and opened in 1971, was deemed one of the most innovative waterfronts in the world. Still active as a public park since its closure in 2012, questions of its future have remained futile. Plans for redevelopment have instigated conversations as to whether the landmark should remain primarily as a public space or bestowed to private partnerships. This exhibition documents Ontario Place’s role as a public asset, allowing users to recognize the cultural significance the park has played during its peak but also during its decline. Speculative narratives are showcased to prompt conversations of Ontario Place’s capacity to realize its original ambition as a place for everyone.

The telling of diverse narratives aim to inspire community members to seek out ways to contribute to the conversations of future city building. Framed through the lens of social sustainability, the narrations will ask users to reflect on the meaning of social sustainability through perspectives of cultural heritage and preservation, community engagement, and designing for inclusion.

Viewers will engage with a curated selection of work by researchers and alumni from the School of Interior Design in The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University and the Future of Ontario Place of the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. The work showcases case studies, interviews, design proposals, and interactive artifacts of varying scales that allow users to explore various experiences of Ontario Place. Visitors will have the opportunity to curate and contribute their own experiences, ideas, and memories of Ontario Place as it currently exists in the past, present, and its potential.

design collection @ STACKT

‘Ontario Place – Narrating Past, Present, and Potential’ is one of 5 projects at Stackt Market as part of the 2023 DesignTO Festival.

• Melancholy by Zeina Nahas
• Ontario Place – Narrating Past, Present, and Potential by Quan Thai & OP-ED
• Ostrea by Stoneface Co.
• The Precipice by Justin Hawley
• 宴 | Found in Translation by Mao Projects

On Friday, January 20, visit Stackt for the ‘design collection @ STACKT Launch Party’. Browse the site on a self-guided tour and meet + greet the designers.

Tour and Meet + Greet: 6-7pm

Private party in the Studio with drinks + a DJ: 7-9pm