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The annual Winter Stations exhibition returns to Toronto’s Woodbine Beach from February 17 to March 30

Toronto’s beloved Winter Stations is back for its 2025 edition, transforming Woodbine Beach into an immersive open-air gallery. Running from February 17 to March 30, the exhibition invites artists and designers worldwide to reimagine the city’s lifeguard stations. This year’s theme, Dawn, serves as a metaphor for transformation, renewal, and the fleeting beauty of first light. The six winning installations showcase bold interpretations of these ideas, combining art, architecture, and nature into interactive experiences. Here’s what visitors can expect at Winter Stations 2025:

Winter Stations at The Beaches, Toronto
Winter Stations at The Beaches, Toronto

Winter Stations 2025, Watch.

Watch by Trae Horne (USA)

Facing the sunrise, Watch serves as a solar-aligned observatory that captures the essence of dawn. Its A-frame structure invites visitors to rest against its canted façade and watch the first rays of sunlight spill across Lake Ontario.

Embedded in the sand, three metal lines track the sun’s shadows on three significant days—the opening of Winter Stations, the spring equinox, and the closing day. On the equinox, sunlight aligns perfectly with the structure’s open threshold, recalling ancient monuments built to mark celestial events. Watch invites visitors to reflect on their place in time while embracing the tranquility of the moment.

Slice of Sun, Toronto Design
Slice of Sun, Toronto Design

Winter Stations 2025, Slice of Sun.

Slice of Sun by Cláudia Franco, Mariam Daudali, and Tom Byrom (Portugal)

Slice of Sun is a warm sanctuary of light designed to transport visitors to the golden hues of summer. Inspired by the scattered orange glow of city windows at dawn, the symmetrical structure offers a break from the cold and an escape into its luminous interior.

Inside, glowing materials bathe the space in warm tones, while internal steps provide structural support and seating. Visitors are invited to pause, dream, and feel embraced by the soft light at any time of day—a momentary slice of summer on a winter beach.

Parade - Winter Stations 2025
Parade - Winter Stations 2025

Winter Stations 2025, Parade.

Parade by Jesse Beus (USA)

A celebration of self-acceptance, Parade is a playful procession of six vibrant characters, each with its own unique colour, shape, and personality. Visitors are welcomed into the parade through a bold archway and can engage with each character—sliding, sitting, or seeking shade beneath their whimsical forms.

Together, this eclectic cast of sculptures marches forward, representing resilience, love, and individuality. Parade invites everyone to join the celebration and embrace their authentic selves.

What to do in Toronto during winter
What to do in Toronto during winter

Winter Stations 2025, Ascolto.

Ascolto by Ines Dessaint and Tonin Letondu (France)

A sanctuary for sound, Ascolto transforms listening into an immersive experience. This minimalist structure, shaped like a giant sound amplifier, encourages visitors to pause and engage with the auditory world around them.

The acoustic capsule is large enough for two or three people, creating an intimate space to listen to the sounds of nature, play music, or even perform live. Positioned partly in the sand and partly supported by the lifeguard tower, Ascolto serves as both a horn and an ear trumpet—connecting visitors through sound and amplifying the beauty of their surroundings.

Winter Stations 2025- Designlines
Winter Stations 2025- Designlines

Winter Stations 2025, Peak.

Peak by University of Waterloo School of Architecture and Department of Architectural Engineering (Canada)

Peak is a dynamic, angular structure that rises from the beach like a series of sharp peaks. Its geometric forms contrast with the natural softness of the surrounding sand while creating alcoves and pathways for exploration.

As sand collects and shifts along its slopes, Peak blends into the landscape, offering shelter from the wind and inviting contemplation. Visitors can wander through the installation, discovering new perspectives and reflecting on the beauty of change and impermanence in nature.

Disco Wall - Toronto art
Disco Wall - Toronto art

Winter Stations 2025, Solair.

Solair by Toronto Metropolitan University Department of Architectural Science (Canada)

Solair captures the fleeting magic of dawn through the interplay of light, wind, and reflection. This sculptural installation amplifies the forces of nature—sunlight and air—turning them into a dynamic sensory experience.

Its reflective surfaces bounce and refract light, while the wind animates the structure with rippling shadows and flickering patterns. Visitors become part of the installation’s performance as they move around and through the space, immersing themselves in the harmony of air, light, and sound—a poetic reminder of nature’s beauty in constant motion.

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The Bentway’s playful installation of 50 trees in shopping carts shines a light on climate resilience and green equity

In a city grappling with rising temperatures, accelerated development and increasing inequity in green space accessibility, Moving Forest arrives not as a solution, but as an invitation to rethink our relationship with nature. Designed by NL Architects as a part of The Bentway’s Sun/Shade exhibition, this outlandish yet purposeful installation transforms a fleet of 50 shopping carts into mobile vessels for native trees—red maples, silver maples, sugar maples and autumn blaze—that roll through some of Toronto’s most sun-scorched plazas, creating impromptu oases of shade and community.

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