Queens Park THEATRE FOR TREES 2025
A competition proposal designed in collaboration with Appareil Architecture for the city of Toronto Queens Park revitalization competition.
The theatre for trees unfolds through a constellation of small gestures within the north- west section of Queen’s Park, creating places to pause, look upward, and appreciate the tree canopy.
As Toronto leans more into it’s identity as a summer city as much as a winter city, the role of public parks becomes ever more vital. In an era of rising temperatures, the shade cast by trees is not only comfort but necessity. Beneath the canopy, we are granted shelter, the gentle hypnosis of dappled light, and a place for gathering or seclusion. These are perhaps the most profound ways to appreciate a tree not as an object, but as an experience.
Our interventions enhance this connection to nature and the elements while celebrating localhandicraft. Sensitive, locally sourced stone is employed with the contribution of artisans whose work is brought fully into view. Each platform is placed with care: nestled within small openings in the park’s density, yet set back from trunks to protect delicate root systems. Brush and low plantings define perimeters around the walkways, guiding visitors onto the paths and gently signaling where access must stop. The design reinforces existing pathways and desire lines, encouraging deeper movement into the park while maintaining ecological respect. Visitors are invited to stand beneath the canopy, to lie down and look upward, to feel the filtered light, yet always at a safe and considered distance from the roots that sustain the trees.
A “protective meadow perimeter,” composed of local perennial flowers, shade-tolerant grasses and ferns, and forest meadow plants, becomes a crucial component, enhancing biodiversity and offering visitors a full sensory experience. In winter, snow drifts soften the forms and deepen the acoustics of the site, transforming the installation into a quiet landscape of reflection where sunlight, shadow, and sound invite visitors to connect with the park in a new way. In this way, the theatre for trees is about choreographing subtle and often overlooked encounters with trees, with shade, with air and light, with scent, and with the sense that life in the city improves when it remains close to nature.
A competition proposal designed in collaboration with Appareil Architecture for the city of Toronto Queens Park revitalization competition.
The theatre for trees unfolds through a constellation of small gestures within the north- west section of Queen’s Park, creating places to pause, look upward, and appreciate the tree canopy.
As Toronto leans more into it’s identity as a summer city as much as a winter city, the role of public parks becomes ever more vital. In an era of rising temperatures, the shade cast by trees is not only comfort but necessity. Beneath the canopy, we are granted shelter, the gentle hypnosis of dappled light, and a place for gathering or seclusion. These are perhaps the most profound ways to appreciate a tree not as an object, but as an experience.
Our interventions enhance this connection to nature and the elements while celebrating localhandicraft. Sensitive, locally sourced stone is employed with the contribution of artisans whose work is brought fully into view. Each platform is placed with care: nestled within small openings in the park’s density, yet set back from trunks to protect delicate root systems. Brush and low plantings define perimeters around the walkways, guiding visitors onto the paths and gently signaling where access must stop. The design reinforces existing pathways and desire lines, encouraging deeper movement into the park while maintaining ecological respect. Visitors are invited to stand beneath the canopy, to lie down and look upward, to feel the filtered light, yet always at a safe and considered distance from the roots that sustain the trees.
A “protective meadow perimeter,” composed of local perennial flowers, shade-tolerant grasses and ferns, and forest meadow plants, becomes a crucial component, enhancing biodiversity and offering visitors a full sensory experience. In winter, snow drifts soften the forms and deepen the acoustics of the site, transforming the installation into a quiet landscape of reflection where sunlight, shadow, and sound invite visitors to connect with the park in a new way. In this way, the theatre for trees is about choreographing subtle and often overlooked encounters with trees, with shade, with air and light, with scent, and with the sense that life in the city improves when it remains close to nature.
Copyright Thom Fougere Studio 2026