The Public Yard

Inspired by James Stirling's Seimen's AQ Headquarters competition entry, I have indulged myself in the science of intimate public space. Usually when we think of intimate open spaces, we think of the yard - the garden. And in America, the yard is often associated with the house - the suburban haven. So, I further explored the typology of yard and rowhouses.

Together, these ideas are experimented in a masterplan for Toronto's Allen Road. The site was an unfinished expressway that has sliced through a relatively quiet, low-rise, suburban community. Today, the Allen is deteriorating, and its long unfinished status defeated its original aspiration of connecting to the city's downtown.

With the vision of intimated open spaces and a myriad of rowhouse and yard combinations, the Allen is transformed into the city's public yard, called Toronto Yard.