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Toronto, Ontario
Mabelle Park is the result of a long and collaborative process shaped by many hands over time. Since 2021, SHIFT has worked alongside LGA Architectural Partners and Mabelle Arts to support the creation of a space that reflects the needs, energy, and ongoing stewardship of the community around it.
Located within a dense tower neighbourhood with limited access to meaningful public open space, the project recognizes the important role that shared landscapes can play in daily life. For many residents, the park functions as a collective front yard and gathering space, offering access to nature, shade, seating, play, and community programming within an intensely urban environment. Conceived as an open and flexible landscape, the park also acts as a stage for community life, supporting performance, cultural expression, gathering, and public art as part of everyday experience.
Rather than imposing a new identity onto the site, the design works humbly and respectfully within the existing landscape to support evolving community needs over time. Beneath the mature tree canopy, new seating areas and pathways are woven around the Belle, a community workspace designed by LGA. Throughout the understory, the planting design introduces species that support pollinators and local ecology, while also including herbs and plants that offer harvest, medicinal, sensory, and cultural value.
Much of the landscape was ultimately brought to life through community participation. Coordinated by Evergreen Canada and Mabelle Arts, several planting events saw residents and volunteers place thousands of plants into the ground together, reinforcing the park not simply as public space, but as a shared act of care and stewardship.
Photography Credit: Double Space Photography + Faridani Foto
https://www.archdaily.com/1040706/mabelle-park-lga-architectural-partners