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Call for Entries for Innovative
Design Competition
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health invites public input on future
of historic Asylum wall
Toronto, Wednesday February 12, 2003: Artists, designers, historians,
people who have experienced the mental health system and members of the
public are all invited to help determine the future of the historic wall
that runs along the east side of the property of the 1001 Queen Street
site of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). CAMH, with
the City of Toronto, launched an Open Ideas Competition today, inviting
entries and offering prizes for the most innovative ideas about how the
wall along Shaw Street can be incorporated into CAMH's proposed redevelopment
of the property.
"The wall, built in the 1880's, is an important part of the site's
history. We are now looking at redeveloping the property to implement
new approaches to mental health and addiction care. Our challenge is to
balance preserving that history while at the same time, creating a neighbourhood
environment that is pleasant, interesting, safe, welcoming and open to
everyone. We are looking forward to receiving original and creative ideas
for the wall from a wide-range of groups and individuals," said Joanne
Campbell, CAMH Vice-President, Community Relations.
The wall has been a focus of discussion for some of the 1700 people who
have attended the more than 70 consultations CAMH has held over the past
four years about its proposed plans for the site. Some people have said
that history will be lost if it is removed and that it should be preserved
and used for public education. Others feel the wall should come down because
it represents negative attitudes toward people who experience mental health
problems, the poor treatment of patients in the past and a physical barrier
to the property.
One of Toronto's most significant urban redevelopments, CAMH's proposed
plans will transform the site from a traditional psychiatric facility,
set apart from the neighbourhood on its 27-acre site, to a centre of research,
education, prevention and care, integrated with the surrounding community.
The site will be designed as an urban village with streets running through
the property and a mix of CAMH and non-CAMH uses and activities. Green
spaces, including a large public park at the corner of Queen and Shaw
Streets, will provide a welcoming and healing environment for both neighbours
and clients. The south and west walls built in the 1850s by patients of
the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, will essentially be retained in their current
form. All three sides of the wall have been designated under the Ontario
Heritage Act.
All ideas for the Shaw street wall will be welcome. A jury, made up of
a wide range of stakeholders with differing viewpoints on the wall, will
judge the entries. The jury will review the submissions and select a winner,
a runner-up, and three honourable mentions, all of whom will receive a
cash prize.
A competition brief which includes a complete set of competition rules
and submission requirements is available at the1001 Queen Street, Administration
Building, Reception, and the library at 33 Russell Street or downloaded
from the CAMH website at www.camh.net (see links
on the right side of this page). Deadline for submissions is March
31st.
CAMH is a Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization
Collaborating Centre and a teaching hospital fully affiliated with the
University of Toronto. CAMH was formed in early 1998 through the merger
of the Addiction Research Foundation, the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry,
the Donwood Institute and the Queen Street Mental Health Centre.
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Media Contact: Anne Ptasznik, Media Relations Coordinator, at 416-595-6015.
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1-800-463-6273
