6th Consecutive Doors Open Toronto Event
This past weekend, the Toronto office participated in the annual Doors Open event for the sixth consecutive year. Amongst an array of historically and culturally significant buildings, we were one of only 9 participating design studios to open our doors to the public, and indeed, to our profession. In honour of this summer’s Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Games, this year’s theme – Sports, Recreation and Leisure – also featured private and public recreational sites ranging from aquatic centres to athletics stadiums. Fittingly, CannonDesign proudly showcased three venues that have recently completed construction – the Mattamy Velodrome in Milton, the TiCats Stadium in Hamilton, and the Stadium at York University.
As in years past, our team went beyond having greeters in the Studio, and constructed our exhibits with a view to engage the community, invite questions, and to reveal our design and construction process. Given the high anticipation surrounding the PanAm venues and games, visitors express real interest and excitement in understanding their complex design and implementation – and in meeting the designers who helped create them. Aiding the dialogue was “Angelo,” our digital printer, surrounded by hand-made and digitally printed models (which always claim more than a fair share of attention), and an interactive space where children conceived and built a model Athletes’ Village.
In its 16th year, Doors Open has grown into a marquee event in Toronto and for our studio. Huge thanks go out to the many colleagues who enthusiastically participated in hosting the event. The event was a great success with more than 600 visitors stopping in to talk about our work and studio.