Manifest[O]Land: Towards an Archi-Cultural Landscape at Ontario Place

Publicly-owned spaces in cities are often catered to passive activity or activity based on consumption, resulting in designs that are not dependent on the city they are in, nor influenced by them, and rendering them interchangeable between any city. This thesis demonstrates the need for an activity-based approach to design and advocates against the privatization of public space. By critically examining the waterfront landscape of Ontario Place in Toronto, Canada in both its original and present state, a set of design and program opportunities are established from which a proposal is made as a counterpoint to the provincial government's recommendations for it. The proposed design introduces programmatic and schematic design; connecting infrastructure, program and architecture in a partial masterplan that will be open for completion through a series of public competitions and civic engagement, ultimately forming a thriving urban archi-cultural mosaic that is reflective of the city spirit of Toronto.