http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story ... n-obelisk/\
Leslieville will soon be getting a unique public art feature: a 9.2-metre tall obelisk by internationally-acclaimed Toronto artist/designer Pierre Poussin.
The iconic piece, which will be placed in the Carlaw-Dundas triangle, a City-owned open space west of Carlaw Avenue, north of Dundas Street East, and south of Dickens Street, be will be the centerpiece of the Carlaw + Dundas Community Initiative project.
A design competition was recently held to select a Signature Marker, a vertical streetscape element that can be seen from all directions and embodies the industrial character and vibrancy of the district.
An eight-member, City of Toronto-appointed jury chose Poussin’s "Brick Obelisk" design. The selection panel consisted of representatives from the community, City staff, and the project consulting team.
"The jury was captivated by Pierre's creativity and thoughtful expression of the site," said jury chair Catherine Williams, a public art consultant, in an October 6 release.
"We had excellent submissions but Pierre's was a clear winner and we look forward to seeing the final design and construction."
Poussin's design consists of an intricately patterned monument made of laser-cut, weathered steel etched with local maps from different time periods.
Like the triangular park it will soon call home, the marker is a three-sided pyramid. Its shape aims to point to the smokestacks of the industrial period of the neighbourhood.
The plan is to light the obelisk from the inside with LED lights.
Installation is set for 2018 after environmental remediation is completed at this site.
"This is an exciting moment for the Carlaw and Dundas neighbourhood, our ward and the city," Ward 30 Councillor Paula Fletcher said in the release.
"Pierre Poussin's obelisk marker will become an iconic entrance feature to the neighbourhood. His wonderful design speaks to the industrial character and vibrancy of this neighbourhood and also our great city."
Poussin’s work, which is currently on display at Toronto's Underpass Park, has been featured at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. A graduate of the furniture design program at Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, he has also worked with the Peace Bridge Authority of Fort Erie and Buffalo, Princeton University and the Walt Disney Corporation among others.
Back in 2014, Toronto City Council approved the $750,000 Carlaw + Dundas Community Initiative project, which is being managed by City Planning, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, Transportation Services, and consultants Schollen and Company. It will involve a number of public realm improvements throughout the community including in Jimmie Simpson Park, Badgerow Parkette, on Boston Avenue, and the Carlaw-Dundas triangle.
Final design and construction is set to begin next year and is expected to be completed in 2018.
"This project is a good example of various City divisions and community stakeholders working together to improve our common grounds," Ward 35 Councillor Michelle Holland, the chair of the Parks and Environment Committee, said in the communiqué.
More details on the Signature Marker and surrounding landscape design will be presented at an open house in November.
Visit
http://www.carlawdundas.ca for more information.
People say they all want the truth, but when they are confronted with a truth that disagrees with them, they balk at it as if it were an unwanted zombie apocalypse come to destroy civilization.