Nathan Phillips Square Toronto City Hall Podium Green Roof

The design competition to revitalize Nathan Phillips Square, the public square surrounding Toronto City Hall, was won by the design team of Plant Architect, Shore Tilbe Architects and Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architecture in part based on providing a publicly accessible greenroof on the podium roof surrounding City Hall. The design of the green roof is in keeping with the original architectural design of City Hall and was from the start designed to be grown and installed in a modular system. New landscaped gardens, courtyards, terraces, furniture and walkways provide unique views of downtown from this urban oasis in the heart of the city."This $2.3-million green roof, which at 3,400 square metres is the largest in Toronto, is part of a $42.7-million plan to redo Nathan Phillips Square, set for completion in 2012," (Roberts, 2009). The green roof was opened to the public upon completion in late May, 2010, to coincide with the Doors Open Toronto on May 29 & 30 2010. This is the first time since the opening of Toronto City Hall in 1965 that the podium roof is a functional, beautiful public space.Although originally envisioned as a public gathering place like the ice rink/fountain in the main square, it never lived up to that billing due to the 120,000 sq ft of interlocking pavers without a shred of vegetation (aside from the green roof plots installed under the sponsorship of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities in 2000 - but now dismantled. See this original profile in The Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database here). Now the space around the towers is a beautiful (albeit short in stature) city park. The Nathan Phillips Square Toronto City Hall Podium Green Roof is the recipient of a 2011 Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) Regional Honour Award; 2011 Design Exchange Award (DXA) Silver Award for Landscape Architecture – Public ; and the 2011 Green Roofs For Healthy Cities 2011 Award of Excellence - Extensive Institutional Category.