Competition winners

Project description: Our proposal introduces Mycomorph: sculptural, prefabricated concrete pods that transform public washrooms into modular civic landmarks. Each pod is a self-contained unit, deployable in scalable configurations to suit the unique programming and conditions of Toronto’s diverse park sites. A unifying canopy structure ties the pods together, channeling daylight, collecting rainwater into a cistern for reuse, and integrating ambient sound art drawn from the surrounding community.

Constructed from robust precast concrete, each pod is designed for durability, longevity, and ease of maintenance. Interior surfaces are finished with water-repellent, anti-graffiti epoxy resin, allowing for complete hose-down cleaning. Floor-integrated drains ensure quick, hygienic maintenance with minimal staff intervention. Epoxy colours will be selected in collaboration with local residents, reinforcing community ownership and identity.

Green roofs support natural hydrology and reduce the urban heat island effect. Fixtures are selected for energy and water efficiency, while passive ventilation enhances comfort in warmer seasons.

Mycomorph promotes spatial justice by including gender-neutral, accessible, and shower-equipped units—providing dignified hygiene access for all, including the unhoused. Amenities include drinking fountains for people and dogs, braille and pictogram signage, caregiver-friendly layouts, child change tables, and barrier-free paths. Attendants have secure, direct access for maintenance.

Harm reduction strategies include private, non-gendered stalls equipped with emergency call strips, occupancy-lit clerestories, naloxone access, and tamper-proof sharps containers. Rounded pod forms enhance visibility and safety while supporting Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles.

Exterior precast cladding panels are custom-textured with wave patterns spelling “hello” in the languages of local communities—Tagalog, Tibetan, Patois, and more. Select panels are treated with living moss to root the design in Toronto’s ecological and cultural diversity. The pods’ mushroom-inspired forms lend each site a distinct sculptural identity.

Scalable, adaptable, and deeply contextual, Mycomorph is not just infrastructure, it is a sustainable, inclusive, and artful contribution to the city’s evolving public realm.

Project description: Public washrooms in busy city center locations must be robust, hygienic and easy to maintain, yet they need to be highly flexible to suit placement in different settings and provide a strong visual identity to make them instantly recognisable.

 

Our modular design uses a “kit-of-parts” approach with three types of gender-neutral units: an accessible WC pod for ambulant disabled individuals, a wheelchair-accessible unit, and a larger specialist wheelchair-accessible unit. These units can be combined to fit site-specific space constraints and budgets.

 

The single-user washroom, based on the wheelchair-accessible unit, integrates plant and service space in the rounded ends, alongside additional features like a drinking fountain, secure bike rack, and dog tie-off.

The multi-user hub at Dufferin King Parkette measures 3.2m by 21.5m, including the oversailing canopy. It contains six washrooms, an attendant cubicle, and a plant room. The canopy provides shelter, and a cantilevered perch table offers seating, with a column extending through the roof for signage. The hub can also be enhanced with a small retail unit and space for digital advertising.

 

For external cladding, options include a polished stainless steel finish for durability or a striking combination of coloured metal tubes. Standard coil widths of metal sheets will minimize production waste.

 

The roof features interchangeable panels, mixing opaque, translucent, and photovoltaic panels to optimize natural light and energy efficiency.

Internally, the washrooms include robust High Pressure Laminate panels (HPL), seamless solid surface sinks, white ceramic WC pans, metal grab rails, and concealed dispensers and automatic hand dryers behind large mirrors. Vinyl sheet (or resin) flooring with coved skirtings ensures easy cleaning, while a concealed plant room houses maintenance systems and provides rear access to WCs.

 

The design balances functionality, hygiene, sustainability and civic appeal, offering innovative, inclusive facilities for the city of Toronto.

Project description: The Loopty Loos are circular public washrooms designed to reimagine urban sanitation as inclusive artistic infrastructure. Inspired by maneuvering radii, the structures are loop-shaped and house up to six fully-enclosed, individual gender-neutral washrooms - five of which are accessible and one that is universal. The Loopty Loos prioritize privacy and dignity through security features such as indirect lighting and window shutters that close upon occupancy.

The radial layout of the multi-user hub is divided into seven portions, each given a colour which contributes to the building’s distinct rainbow exterior. The single-user Loopty Loos are scattered across the city in a variety of “ROYGBIV” colours, easily recognizable with their vibrant hues and playful forms.

Peeking up over the roof are whimsical ""Sun Snorkels"" which draw indirect daylight inside while preserving users' privacy. These vertical elements act as beacons to those in need of a Loo. Artists can use the Snorkels' glass as canvases for light-filtering artwork or as unique display vitrines.

The multi-user hub contains both a staff area and a storage room which can be closed off by a retractable security screen when staff are not present. At the centre of the loop is a convenient maintenance room where the toilets' plumbing can be accessed. Outside of the Loopty Loos, coloured areas on the pavement indicate door swing clearances per The Safer Bathrooms Toolkit. Inclusive signage, accessible door operators, and emergency lighting are also provided.

The 540 and 90 square-foot circular forms of the Loopty Loos symbolize continuity and community while providing all the amenities for inclusive public washrooms of the future. With their unique shapes and distinct colours, the Loopty Loos serve as both wayfinding tools and playful, welcoming gestures to passersby.

Project description: Reimagining the concrete pipe, an icon of buried infrastructure as a vessel brought to the surface, reclaiming space for hygiene, dignity, and visibility. The cylindrical form evokes municipal systems: water, waste, transit, yet instead of exclusion and opacity, it invites access, rest, and repair.

 

Each pod is self-contained yet part of a larger collective.

When placed in clusters, they create an open system of interstitial circulation rather than a singular, enclosed block. Users weave between volumes, encountering moments of light, shade, and reflection. This spatial logic transforms the act of basic bodily care into an architectural journey, a small but profound punctuation mark within the city’s relentless flow. This configuration allows for phased deployment, flexible scaling, and easy integration into various urban conditions.

 

Materiality grounds the vision: Its envelope is cast in Ferrock, a novel carbon-negative material made from recycled steel dust and silica. Preserving the legibility of urban concrete, it is rugged and elemental, yet tells a different story: that the city can be built from what it throws away. This new material language reflects an ethic of circularity. Stronger than concrete, Ferrock not only absorbs CO₂ during curing, but also reuses industrial waste to create something radically durable and socially purposeful.

 

In Passing responds to a growing urgency: cities must support those who move through them, often without a fixed place to stay. It proposes infrastructure that adapts to uncertainty, and is robust yet flexible, mobile yet grounded. More than a washroom, In Passing is a civic prototype: scalable, repairable, and rooted in care. It frames public hygiene not as an afterthought, but as a visible, architectural commitment to equity.

Dignity, even in passing.

During the evening of July 10, attendees of the exhibition launch were invited to vote on their favourite design. At the end of the evening, we tabulated the votes for the People’s Choice Award, and presented Nitesh and Laura with a prize bag of books donated from Coach House Books and University of Toronto Press.