I finished yesterday to build my Icon, which is due for crit on wednesday. The Icon is a three dimensional piece of art supposed to express the deep thoughts behind our thesis. Mine (see pics) is about form/structure/function/growth. The box is the structure, the grass symbolises growth, the threads and the lead bits holding them are form and structure; although they also embody the human organisms and the connections they will create amongst the community.
I have yet to put together a more coherent presentation for wednesday.



I eventually decided on a site, which will be the silos on toronto's lakeshore. I chose this one for multiple reasons, the main on being the fact that I literally fell in love with the building and saw all the potential it had right away. It is also really well located and extremely easy to access, one of toronto's highways passing right next to it. It is not far from downtown, hence from the universities/colleges and businesses that might want to get involved in the project.
Right now, the neighbourhood is rather dry and boring, all the surrounding lots being wasteland, although this area is one of the next to be tackled and rehabilitated in The Dot. The highway is a real barrier cutting the lakeshore from the rest of the city.



I learned today that this huge wasteland was once "tent city" a homeless community that spontaneously grew throughout the years until they were expelled in 2002 by the owner: Home Depot.
I've got a lot of raw data and and rough ideas for now, and no real Idea about the direction towards which I'm heading, but I'm really excited about this project, especially with this site which is, at least to me, extremely interesting.