Collective Memories

Urban Heritage and Industrial Conservation of Geary Avenue

Function: Work & Live | Adaptive Reuse
Date: December 2020 - May 2020
Research and Masterplanning Collaborator: Sara Vitti
Course: Urban Heritage Studio- ARC820
Supervisor: Prof. Masha Etkind, Prof. Itai Peleg (City of Toronto)
Site: Geary Avenue

Geary Avenue case study tracks the faded memories of the district to capture the industrial character of the site. The preservation strategy and masterplan of Geary increases the residential community’s involvement towards the advancing industrial threshold. Rather than removing the industrial past, the proposal explores the history, density studies combines the industrial language of Geary to natural elements to provide a long-lasting experience, rich with natural industrial memories. The project is executed with consideration for the future generations, as it seeks to define new experiential context. The new proposal comprehends the agoraphobic sense of the empty green field unfolded by flying wires and historical hydro towers, along the longitudinal ‘green’ hydro line, mirroring Geary Avenue.

The In-between City

The freehand drawing synthesizes Suprematism, Constructivism, and Symbolism to address the current age of urban limitations, which lead to catastrophic fragmentations in many dense cities. The formal expression of the drawing borrows Utopian concepts and examines the possibility of adding a new layer to the industrial context of Geary Avenue. This experiential drawing offers a generative conceptual perspective by adding new urban layers, highlighting the industrial and residential character of Geary Avenue. As a result, the proposed design intervention aims to rehabilitate the existing layer of the site by generating an active communal layer to accommodate future urban and industrial transformations of Geary Avenue and the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The masterplan proposal for Geary Avenue identifies and connects the industrial heritage landmarks that characterize the area. A key challenge, as noted by the City of Toronto representative, is revitalizing Geary Avenue without triggering gentrification in the residential community. The project’s conservation strategies incorporate the collective historical evolution of the industrial district and embrace the ‘industrial geometry’ of the site by preserving its cultural heritage elements. The proposed masterplan takes inspiration from Promenade Plantée, aiming to reinvent the cultural purpose of the Canadian Pacific Railway by creating green passages and transforming Toronto into an art hub. This plan interconnects Geary Avenue by introducing new multipurpose pedestrian layers and affordable mixed-use developments that support the work, live, and play lifestyle.

Diagrammatic Studies