Competitions are often accused of generating controversies, yet what if the projects themselves, at the urban scale, unveil vulnerability and controversies. The Lower Don Lands competition, launched in February of 2007 by the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (TWRC), in cooperation with the Toronto and Region Conservation (TRCA) and the City of Toronto, was an international competition looking for ideas to bring the river back to the city, after many years of seeking to reframe the industrially focused site. This competition of a public space project, with the unique opportunity of harmonizing the riverbanks to the urban space, was exemplary not only for designers, but for the citizens too, as this was the realization of a longstanding community ambition. [...] more

To commemorate the 20 years of Canadian Centre for Architecture, LEAP will join the celebration by collecting documents, mostly unpublished, of the fine competition organized in 1994 and 1995, through the initiative of Phyllis Lambert. The CCA was then seeking young architects, artists, philosophers or scientists by inviting them to collectively explore new disciplinary expanses... [...] more

The expansion of Saul-Bellow Library was subject to a design competition in 2011, the first of its kind to insist on an "integrated design process". Three years later, while Chevalier Morales' winning proposal is under construction, it is interesting to review the way the architects responded to the challenges presented by the use of this qualitative process that exploits vastly different means. [...] more