The long history of this unusual site stretches from visceral recent memory (the site housed a functioning abattoir until 2014) to obscured landscape history (Garrison Creek once ran through here). Although it may be perceived – at its worst – as a site of violence against nature, it remains a rare vestige of the economic foundations of the city.

The leveled, hardscaped grounds of the decommissioned abattoir sit at the edge of the original town of York. A new Plateau consolidates this urban history into a generous, flat, flexible plane; then punctures it with sunken planting areas and openings to an excavated concourse below, introducing a multi-level public realm. The former ‘scale’ is converted into a passageway to a hidden orchard, and a seasonally enclosed ambulatory space within the historic façade of the abattoir counters its prior olfactory offenses with aromatic gardens. A vertical 3-meter drop in elevation is the only remaining evidence of the former creek, long since buried into drains below the site. Rearticulating this drop as a gradual topographical shift sculpted from rammed earth, a new creek bank emerges along with a generous public promenade connecting from the high ground to the low ground and framing views of neighbouring Fort York National Historic Site. The low ground, where wild vegetation has already pushed through the cracks in pavement, becomes the porous Lowlands, with a permeably paved plaza and a valley of lush native plantings. A boardwalk along the rail corridor creates a promenade and cycling trail with views of the downtown skyline, and connects the site to Garrison Crossing, the pedestrian and cycling bridge to the Fort.