TSA Landscape Tour: Biidaasige Park

From the Landscape Architects: Biidaasige Park

For thousands of years the Don River flowed into Lake Ontario through one of the largest freshwater  marshes in the Great Lakes region. The marsh was rich in flora and fauna and an important meeting  place for indigenous peoples. But beginning in the 19th century, this vital ecosystem and traditional  First Nations territory was altered beyond recognition by industrial activity. Large sections were  

drained and filled to create the Port Lands, an enclave that included docks and warehouses along with  facilities for petroleum storage, concrete production, and animal rendering. To accommodate these  new uses, the mouth of the river itself was forced into a 60-foot-wide channel, which became so  polluted that the Don was eventually declared “dead.” Then in 1954, Hurricane Hazel left much of  Toronto underwater, making flood control measures essential. Starting with a public forum in 1989,  the federal, provincial, and city governments began making plans to renaturalize the mouth of the  Don. In 2007, Waterfront Toronto, representing the three levels of government, invited four firms to  compete for the commission. MVVA’s winning proposal called for retaining the existing channel while  creating a new river valley capable of carrying large volumes of stormwater out to Lake Ontario.  

Around the renaturalized river, some 330 acres of newly recovered land, including a large new island  called Ookwemin Minising, has become a mix of public parkland collectively called Biidaasige Park,  restored habitat, and mixed-use development designed in accordance with leading-edge sustainability  and smart growth principles.  

Since 2007, MVVA has led both the design  and execution of this large, complex, and environmentally sensitive engineering project. Some 35 MVVA employees have worked with dozens of consultants in fields as varied as hydrology, ecology, geology, soil remediation, lighting, and industrial and indigenous heritage conservation. The design sets a global precedent for the transformation of flood-prone, post-industrial wastelands into resilient, ecologically rich, and socially inclusive urban districts.  

Benefitting from the beauty of the restored riparian environment, the project will also permit  expansion of the public realm. Gaps in bike trails will be mended, expanding opportunities for  nonmotorized travel between existing parks and neighborhoods. New parklands will allow  Torontonians to immerse themselves in the urban waterfront. 

 Learn more about this project here.

About TSA Building Tours

Designed for architects by architects, the TSA Building Tours offer unique behind-the-scenes access to recently completed or under construction buildings across the GTA. Led by the team behind their design, these tours provide an opportunity to hear the stories behind the architecture and learn about the challenges and successes in ideating and realizing the vision for the building.