Mayor David Miller and Councillor Pam McConnell revealed the five short-listed competitors who will vie for the title of ‘winning design’ in the St. Lawrence Market North Building Design Competition.

“This project has been 10 years in the making, and it is because of the support and involvement of the community that we continue to move forward,” said Councillor McConnell.  “Thanks to the community, farmers, antique market vendors, and the South Market tenants, we’ve reached another major step in building a North Market that will be a vibrant place to be.”

The announcement comes after architectural teams across the country and abroad responded to Stage 1 of the competition by submitting expressions of interest, and the City and a professional advisor to the competition narrowed the field to a final list of competitors. Stage 2 of the competition begins today, in which the finalists develop full building designs. These will be exhibited to the public in May.

“We’ve evaluated the Stage 1 submissions and we now have a list of finalists who will create what they see is a perfect fit for a new, vibrant North Market building,” said Mayor David Miller. “All of them are established architectural teams in their own right. With their breadth of knowledge and experience, I’m confident they will present compelling designs befitting this important project.”

The list of jury members for Stage 2 was also unveiled today. The jury members, who come from across North America, will deliberate, debate and adjudicate over which design should be chosen for the North Market redevelopment. The redevelopment of the St. Lawrence Market North property is to replace the existing one-storey North Market building with a new four-storey, multi-purpose facility that is more environmentally sustainable, energy efficient and mindful of the character and heritage of the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood.

“We are extremely fortunate to have a distinguished list of jury members to help us realize the City’s vision,” said Councillor McConnell. “This is an exciting, once in a lifetime opportunity for the jury and for our city to build a legacy.  We are all eager for the short-listed teams to unveil their models and concepts in May.”

Following jury deliberation and selection of the winning design, competition results will be announced to the public in June. The new North Market building in the St. Lawrence Market Complex is expected to be completed and operating in 2014, and during its construction, the Saturday Farmers’ Market and the Sunday Antique Market will continue to operate at a temporary market structure at 125 The Esplanade.

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The five design teams that have been selected from a field of 30 to compete in Stage 2 of the St. Lawrence Market North Building Design Competition are:

Adamson Associates Architects and Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
Cohos Evamy + Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden Architects
Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects
NORR Limited, Architects Engineers Planners
Taylor Hazell Architects and Montgomery Sisam

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The seven members of the competition jury are:

Christine Couvelier is an expert in identifying the “Gold Standard” in what works when it comes to food markets and is currently the president of Culinary Concierge.
Dr. Ron Dembo is the Founder and CEO of Zerofootprint, an organization dedicated to a mass reduction in global environmental impact.
William N. Greer provides full services as a Professional Heritage Consultant to a variety of clients, firms and professionals requiring consultation relating specifically to emerging heritage issues and the conservation of buildings and sites.
Andrea Leers is a Principal at Leers Weinzapfel Associates, recipient of the 2007 AIA National Firm Award.
David Mirvish is a Toronto-based theatrical producer who has produced shows in Toronto, across Canada, in London, England and on Broadway.
Peter Ortved is a Principal of CS&P Architects in Toronto. Prior to joining CS&P in 1993, he was a Principal of Cravit Ortved Architects for ten years.
Claire Weisz is a founding partner of WXY Architecture and an expert in sustainable urban design and architecture with a community oriented approach.

Visit http://www.toronto.ca/stlawrence_market/design for more information.

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Project Timeline

April 28, 2010 – Stage  II submission deadline

May 2010 – Public exhibition of design submissions and review by jury members

June 2010 – Announcement of competition winner and report to City Council

Autumn 2010 – Completion of temporary market building at 125 The Esplanade and relocation of Farmers Market and Antique Market

Early 2011 – Construction on the new North Market building begins

2014 – Occupancy of the North Market building