Pinch City

Pinch City proposes to capitalize the super-grid by extending and twisting its logic. The site “pinched” to densify around lines of transit and insert open-space that supports recreation and other programs. It’s a reorganization of existing elements to inject local hierarchies and intensify difference within the block. Taking Scarborough Center as the site for new growth transforms an obsolete mid-century typology into a new center for the community of Scarborough. The design is a phased obsolescence for the existing mall, with a reciprocal building up of a transit hub, retail center, and public space for Scarborough. Pinch City was developed for the Build Toronto Workshop, held at the University of Toronto Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.