Winter Stations bring art and wonder to Toronto's Beach waterfront

A design contest open to artists, designers, architects and landscape architects has transformed the winter waterfront of Toronto's Beach area. Here's a look at the winning entries, all constructed around lifeguard stands, seen on a morning when dense fog rolled in from Lake Ontario. Below, the installation BuoyBuoyBuoy by Dionisios Vriniotis, Rob Shostak, Dakota Wares-Tani, and Julie Forand of Toronto.

The Illusory

An installation by Humber College School of Media Studies & IT, School of Applied Technology, consists of reflective linear panels that mirror both the surrounding landscape and the viewer who is drawn into its circular structure.

The Beacon

Created by Joao Araujo Sousa and Joanna Correia Silva of Porto, Portugal, the wooden structure is based on an archetypal lighthouse configuration. A network of such beacons could serve as community drop-off points for donated food and clothing, hence the strategically placed openings attracting these curious visitors. 

North

Designed by Studio Perch in Montreal, this work suspends 41 fir trees in a way that upends your conception of a forest. Winter Stations will run until March 27, and the falling needles will create part of the intended effect.

Flotsam and Jetsam

University of Waterloo architecture students created this towering, lopsided structure by stacking cages, many of them filled with plastic bottles.

Collective Memory

Viewers of this installation are invited to write down a personal memory and insert the paper into one of the recycled glass bottles that form the two translucent walls. It's the work of Mario Garcia of Barcelona and Andrea Govi of Milan. 

Midwinter Fire

Created by the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto, this installation appears deceptively simple. To feel its full warmth, you need to enter inside. 

The interior walls reflect a garden of plants chosen for their winter colours.

I See You Ashiyu

This quirky installation by Asuka Kono and Rachel Salmela of Toronto transforms a lifeguard station into a Japanese-style wood-fired hot spring, complete with foot bath.

Founded by RAW Design, Ferris and Associates, and Curio, the Winter Stations design competition began as a way to encourage Toronto residents to visit the beach waterfront in the winter.

The Winter Stations opened on Family Day and can be seen until March 27.