The Space Between by IBI Group

The ongoing renaissance at Yonge + St. Clair continues this January as Slate Asset Management joins TO DO to present a series of lobby installations. Three installations will be on display near the midtown intersection, including work from international design firms Gensler and IBI Group, as well as local studio superkul.

At 55 St. Clair West, IBI Group presents ‘The Space Between’.

Over a period of several months, IBI staff worked to debate and analyze the state of public space, with a focus on the Yonge & St. Clair area. Examining urban networks and the space we navigate daily between major destinations in the public realm, the installation questions the traditional emphasis and energy that is placed on more prominent “destination” type public spaces, often at the expense and neglect of the less generous, but more frequented, public ‘Space Between’.

Physical Element
The display consists of over 6,000 meters of interwoven coloured string, transforming the multi-level lobby at 55 St. Clair West with an infrastructure of horizontal and vertical planes, cutting and shaping the existing space. The intervention of the existing lobby space emphasizes the transitional nature between the public realm of St. Clair Avenue, and the private function of the building. You’ll notice the common themes of patterning, layering, compression, density and gathering, all inherent in the characteristics of Space Between. The combined length of the string used to build the installation is equal to the approximate distance required to pull a single, continuous line from the building lobby, to Toronto landmarks such as the Toronto Waterfront, the Don Valley, the Junction and Yorkdale Mall.

Digital Element
IBI staff volunteered their raw GPS travel data to track how visitors to the Yonge & St. Clair area navigate the public realm by foot, vehicle, and public transportation at various moments over the course of the day. Through a series of manipulations, this data is transformed into a dynamic, abstracted animation that marks the passage of time, highlights points of collision, and indicates the routes taken of both the individual, and the broader collective. Tracing Toronto and Midtown, each colour of the animation represents a unique mode of transportation.

Ultimately, with a heightened awareness of the presence of these spaces, opportunities arise to greatly enhance the daily experience for all who navigate the #SpaceBetweenYSC and its public realm.

We believe everyone is equally qualified to have an opinion and understanding of public space, not just professional designers. Please share your experience, journeys of the public realm and your feedback about our installation on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #SpaceBetweenYSC–and don’t forget to tag us! (Insta: @IBI_Group, Tw: @ibigroup)

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Technology-driven design firm, IBI Group, is one of the largest architectural firms in the world, providing an extensive array of services that contribute to a brighter urban future. Headquartered in Toronto, our experts collaborate on architecture, engineering, planning, systems and technology projects across the globe. From high-rises to hospitals, and transit systems to schools, we’re shaping the way people live, move, learn, and heal in the cities of tomorrow.

With 60+ offices across Canada, the U.S., the UK, the Middle East, India and Latin America, our more than 2,600 employees inform every aspect of resilient, connected and inclusive urban environments. At IBI Group, we make cities. People give them life.

To learn more, visit our website www.ibigroup.com or follow us on Twitter @ibigroup and Instagram @ibi_group.

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Check out what’s also happening at Yonge + St. Clair:

#ohdeer by Gensler
Second Life by superkul
Smashing Barriers, Creating Vision
TO DO Talks: Undo Toronto
TO DO Tours: Creating Communities Through Art