Toronto-based LANDinc and New York Design landscape architecture firm Martha Schwartz Partners (MSP) have been awarded the commission by Infrastructure Ontario to work with the province of Ontario on the design and construction of the public realm of Ontario Place.  

The public realm of Ontario Place will accommodate a range of activities across the site for play, rest and exploration through a blended landscape design with land art, culture, and ecologically based strategies. Celebrating the legacy of the site, the landscape concept to be developed will be visionary, attracting both national and international tourists and businesses. It will be a publicly accessible space that can be explored outside of programmed events and attractions, and that reinforces continuous public connectivity throughout the site and beyond – with 24/7 access to the 30 km Martin Goodman trail, Exhibition Place and the City of Toronto.

“Ontario Place holds a unique opportunity to create a global destination, and we look forward to leading this exciting legacy project with a multi-disciplinary award-winning team of experts,” said Patrick Morello, Senior Principal, LANDinc. 

“We have the opportunity to create an international attraction within regenerated aquatic and terrestrial habitats,” added Walter Kehm, Senior Principal, LANDinc.

“LANDinc and MSP have a strong partnership and proven track record of success,” added Martha Schwartz, Founding Partner, MSP.  “We are thrilled to be collaborating on this exciting project to revitalize this iconic landmark in a sustainable way.”

Founded in 1999, LANDinc is an award-winning urban design, landscape architecture and environmental planning firm based in Toronto. LANDinc’s team and Principals Walter Kehm and Patrick Morello, Landscape Architects and Urban Designers, led the revitalization of Trillium Park and the William G. Davis waterfront trail in 2017, which received an Award of Excellence from the Toronto Urban Design Awards. LANDinc has led other national and international waterfront projects including Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto, the subject of Mr. Kehm’s recent publication Accidental Wilderness, as well as highly complex infrastructure projects such as the $500M curvilinear Abu Dhabi Corniche Waterfront Park and Pedestrian Promenade in the capital city of the UAE.

Martha Schwartz Partners (MSP) is a leading international landscape architecture practice renowned for activating and regenerating urban sites, waterfronts and city centres.  MSP has over 40 years of experience designing and implementing installations, gardens, civic plazas, parks, institutional landscapes, corporate headquarters, master plans, and urban regeneration projects. The firm has received many international awards and recognitions, including the ASLA Landmark Award for the Village of Yorkville Park in Toronto, as well as the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Award for General Excellence for the firm’s work on the Children’s Route in Moscow.