В Торонто открыт временный общественный парк из переработанных материалов на новом острове

If you’re looking for a fresh, breezy spot to unwind in Toronto this summer, set your sights on the city’s new island, where a community gathering space has just taken over an “unexpected location,” and it’s made from scrap material. On July 4, Ookwemin Minising unveiled its pop-up Waterfront Neighbourhood Space, found just east of Fire Hall 30 at 39 Commissioners St., along a stretch of meadow. Offering seating, shade and a place to come together for events, informal play and “everyday moments,” the community space will welcome visitors through late fall 2026. In the upcoming months, visitors can also expect a range of activities. It also hosted the pop-up. “Developed in partnership with Waterfront Toronto, C40 Cities, and the City of Toronto, the pop-up brings to life a core idea behind the island’s future: creating spaces that support community, climate resilience and everyday life from the ground up,” according to the team at Waterfront Toronto. And aside from offering Torontonians a new spot to gather, the pop-up also serves as a “living prototype” for climate action, resilience and inclusive placemaking. Building Ookwemin Minising’s Waterfront Neighbourhood Space To build the pop-up, reclaimed and repurposed materials sourced from around Toronto were used. This includes scraps and items from residential renovations, demolitions sites and infrastructure work to give the materials a second life. And instead of designing first and sourcing materials afterward, teams at GXN and Ha/f “flipped the traditional process” to build with reuse and circular design in mind. “Look closely and you might notice the materials used to build this space have a past. By prioritizing modularity and reuse, the space demonstrates how temporary installations can contribute to a more sustainable built environment” the Waterfront Toronto team said. “From salvaged lumber and recovered brickwork, to concrete blocks, utility materials, milk crates and Muskoka chairs, each element helped inform the final design.” And by using a “stacking and strapping approach,” these designs can also be deconstructed to be reused over again. Ookwemin Minising: Toronto’s new island Ookwemin Minising is situated about a 30-minute walk from downtown Toronto and offers views of the city’s skyline. With a total of 39.6 ha (98 acres), its name means “the place of black cherry trees.” Biidaasige Park on Ookwemin Minising started to welcome in visitors last summer as the launch for the “largest park to open in Toronto in a generation” commenced. As the first public space to open on Ookwemin Minising, its name means “sunlight shining toward us” in Anishinaabemowin-Ojibwemowin and it is 24.28 hectares (60 acres). And there’s still more to be unveiled. Coming up on July 25, the western section of Biidaasige Park is also set to open to add 10 new acres of waterfront parkland to Ookwemin Minising. “This is a major milestone in reconnecting the city to its waterfront,” according to Waterfront Toronto.