| This thesis explores a dynamic and environmentally responsible strategy for urban redevelopment of the de-industrialized Port Lands located at the mouth of the Don River in Toronto. The Don River is a river without spectacular scenery or rare plants and like many urban rivers has been abused and is quite ugly in parts. Nonetheless it remains, to a surprising degree, a reservoir of natural places of great integrity. In addition, the Don River valley has been, over many decades, the site of a wide range of human and industrial activities. Today that history forms the basis of our current understanding of the area as a cultural landscape of significant value.;The prototype design for the Don River Discovery Pavilion is an architectural response that questions how to appropriately build adjacent to a constructed wetlands condition. The pavilion investigates how architecture and landscape can create a new public understanding of the relationship between nature, people, and cities. This model for future sustainable development represents a critique of the unsustainable actions of the past and explores the possibility of a new architectural paradigm that takes its cues from an imitation and emulation of natural processes, The proposal signifies a move towards a philosophy of sustainability, which promotes human development that is environmentally responsible, economically feasible, and theoretically clear to the public.;In particular this thesis will investigate possible strategies for redevelopment in reference to the idea of the post-industrial "brownfield" site and incorporate the application of phytoremediation, a progressive remediation technique now being explored worldwide. The utilization of this passive remediation technique in situ enables the public to witness and participate in the healing of the site while stimulating a collective environmental stewardship. In this way, the thesis also explores the fragile site condition as a catalyst for conceptualizing alternate patterns of urbanism that are ecologically responsible and restore curiosity with citizens. |
