Call for Proposals: Winter Stations 2025

Offering international designers and emerging artists an opportunity to transform lifeguard stations along Toronto’s winter beaches into whimsical design installations.

Winter Stations 2024 entry, Nimbus. Image courtesy of Winter Stations.

Winter Stations 2025

Competition Deadline: November 4, 2024
Winners Announced: January, 2025
Public Exhibition Begins: February 17, 2025 (Family Day Long Weekend)
Location: Woodbine Beach, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Winter Stations launched its 11th annual design competition last week and is looking for some fresh ideas from local and international design community to take the event into it’s second decade.

Dawn marks the beginning of a new era for Winter Stations as it steps into its 11th year, symbolizing a fresh chapter in its creative journey. Just as the first light of morning breaks through the darkness, the exhibition will explore the moments of profound change that redefine and shape our existence, highlighting the delicate process of shedding old layers to emerge as something new. Dawn embraces the evolving self and the endless possibilities of change and transition, whether it be personal, natural, or spiritual, capturing the raw beauty of growth and renewal.

Dawn represents the shift from night to day, and this year, designers are invited to explore how Winter Stations can evolve, and to consider the future of the exhibition and its relationship with the public and the environment. Through this lens, Dawn challenges designers to explore how Winter Stations can adapt, grow, and metamorphose in the coming years, shaping the urban landscape in imaginative and innovative ways.

Special Considerations:

• Conceptualize the station to be experienced up close and from afar, in person and virtually.
• Assume minimal security and the possibility of vandalism and wear/tear from weather elements and public use.
• There is no power or utilities available for the stations, and solar-powered devices are to the discretion of the Winter Stations team.
• Installations should not propose the use of electricity or fire.
• Stations should not exceed a footprint of 10 square meters if the proposal has a roof or is enclosed by walls.
• Stations which encourage climbing (stairs, ramps, etc.) are subject to the Ontario Building Code.
• Transportation and storage considerations:
  ◦ Designs will need to consider a trailer bed size of 7′ x 18′ to transport the installation. The installation can be intact or disassembled into components to fit on the trailer bed.
  ◦ Designs will need to consider storage efficiency and accommodate a shipping container of 8′ x 8′ x 20′ post exhibition.
• Stations should be designed for both a sandy/snowy beach environment and a flat urban surface.

Winter Stations 2024 entry, a kaleidoscopic odyssey. Image courtesy of Winter Stations.

Submission Guidelines:

Entries must be submitted electronically as 1 PDF not exceeding 10mb. Each entry should contain, in order, the following documents (in English):

Page One: Project Summary

• 1 page maximum (11″ x 17″ / 279mm x 432mm)
• A maximum of 150-word text describing the project and presenting the experience offered by the visitors
• Layout of selected images and drawings describing the project

Page Two: Images and Drawings

• 1 page maximum (11″ x 17″ / 279mm x 432mm)
• 4 main views or elevations of the installation indicating size and specification of materials. Entrant is free to choose the scale
• A perspective showing the design in its entirety
• Rough-order-of-magnitude cost for artwork installation

Page Three: Project Credits

• (11″ x 17″ / 279mm x 432mm)
• Name of the installation, and the designer(s) who worked on it
• Contact info for every member of the team, including email and phone number
• Name of design studio, or practice (if applicable)

Notes:

• Each document must include the name of the project however there must be no information on page one or two of the design proposal that would identify the entrant. This info should only appear on page three.
• Final submission should be 1 PDF consisting of 3 pages.
• Proposals may be landscape or portrait format.
• Please be aware that submissions will be reviewed by the jury as hard copies (i.e. do not attempt to attach hyperlinks, videos, or any other digital content to the pdf files).
• Submissions by email will not be accepted; if you wish to submit, please do so electronically through the Dropbox link.
• Please use the following naming conventions: save your files with the name of the installation. For example: BellyOfTheBear.pdf
• Proposals should not exceed a foot print of 10 square meters if the proposal has a roof or is enclosed by walls.
• Proposals which encourage climbing (stairs, ramps, etc.) are subject to the Ontario Building Code.

Submission Information:

Registrations are now open for the competition with the deadline for submissions on November 4, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Winners will be announced early January. There is no fee to enter the competition which welcomes entries from all around the world. The winning teams will be rewarded $2,000 (CAD).

Proposals should adhere to the following budget for submissions:

• $5,000.00 CAD for materials
• $10,000.00 CAD for labour

All 2025 installations must be able to withstand Toronto’s winter weather for several weeks along the waterfront. Designs must also consider new technical guidelines that will facilitate future exhibitions in other parts of Toronto. The built installations will be unveiled on Family Day Weekend in Canada (February 17, 2025).

For more information on submissions guidelines and to submit your design, please visit winterstations.com/competition

For additional information or questions, please contact:
Stefano Toniutti
stefano.toniutti@kga-inc.com

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