Backgrounder: TCHC’s Gordonridge multi-sport court wins national design award

TORONTO, May 14, 2021— ERA Architects, lead architect for Toronto Community Housing's Gordonridge Community Multi-Sport Court in Scarborough, has won the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA)'s Award of Excellence for Landscape Design. The CSLA announced the winners of its national design awards on May 20, 2021.

About the Gordonridge Multi-Sport Court Project

  • ERA Architects led the design of the multi-sports space with the input of tenants.
  • TCHC landscape architecture, design and engineering, and construction and preservation teams, along with local tenant engagement team, made significant contributions to the project.
  • The funding partners included TCHC, MLSE Foundation and Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities.
  • Construction began in 2019 and was completed in summer 2020.
  • The court brings together basketball, volleyball, pickleball, a skateboard ramp, a track, a ping pong table and parkour play elements. It gives TCHC tenants a safe space to congregate and keep active while providing barrier-free access, landscape-integrated spectator seating and a central tree canopy.
  • Community response to the court has been enthusiastic—dampened only by social distancing restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The space, designed with tenant input, has become an important gathering place for the community and has fostered a sense of pride, especially for young people. Young people took an active role in suggesting that the space include a walking track and seating areas so that older adults could enjoy the space as well as the youth in the community.

About the CSLA Awards

  • The projects selected for the CSLA Awards of Excellence are preeminent examples of Canadian landscape architecture.
  • The projects showcase the range of what landscape architects do and how landscape architects are helping to reshape communities by defining the places where people live, work and play.
  • Winners were selected by a national jury of landscape architects.
  • A total of 72 submissions were received.
  • Award selection criteria included:

Demonstration of a deep understanding of the craft of landscape architecture and attention to composition and detail; demonstration of excellence in leadership, project management, breadth of work, new directions, or new technology; Innovation in concept, process, materials, or implementation; promotion of the discipline amongst related professions, clients, and the general public; and a demonstration of exemplary environmental and/or social awareness.

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About Toronto Community Housing

Toronto Community Housing is Canada's largest social housing landlord, providing homes for nearly 60,000 low and moderate-income households in neighbourhoods across the city. We are wholly owned by the City of Toronto and our 2,100 buildings represent a $10-billion public asset.

Media contact:  media@torontohousing.ca