We are part of the winning team for the YZD Runway Roadmap in Toronto
The award-winning Downsview Framework Plan laid the groundwork for transforming Toronto’s former airfield. Now, we’re on the winning team reimagining its YZD Runway as a vibrant community spine connecting seven new neighborhoods.
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Michael Sørensen
Global Market Director
Senior Associate, Senior Project Lead, AICP
Together with a team led by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc., we have won the YZD Runway Roadmap, a design guidelines competition. Located at the heart of Canada’s largest city and informed by local culture, the 370-acre YZD site is set to become a dynamic, inclusive, and resilient city-within-a-city.
Our team will develop a holistic set of guidelines that will help shape the future of the 2.1km YZD Runway over the coming decades. The activation strategy is rooted in enriching public life, uplifting the creative economy, and making room for local art and Indigenous placekeeping.
"The outpouring of submissions for a Toronto design competition was unprecedented. We know where The Runway is, its scale, its challenges, and its opportunities. These guidelines offer a unique chance to establish a design language that future partners will follow to ensure YZD’s ambitious placemaking principles become reality."
The international design competition drew interest from hundreds of studios from around the world. Our winning team, delivering for Northcrest Developments, brings together local and international firms including Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc., HR&A Advisors, eDesign Dynamics, Lord Cultural Resources, Belleville Placemaking, Bruce Mau Design, Indigenous-owned Trophic Design, and Urban Strategies.
Our team will develop the roadmap guidelines, defined collaboratively with Northcrest, over the coming 18 months.
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