Peace Garden Architect Viljo Revell Ontario

Nathan Phillips Square

Viljo Revell of Finland designed the  Toronto City Hall.
The clam like  structure in the centre  is the Council Chamber ( 155 ft in diameter)
Nathan Phillips Square is an urban plaza that forms the forecourt toToronto City Hall, or New City Hall, at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, and named for Nathan Phillips, mayor of Toronto from 1955 to 1962. The square opened in 1965, and, as with the City Hall, the square was designed by architect Viljo Revell.The square is the site of concerts, art displays, a weekly farmers' market, the winter festival of lights, and other public events, including demonstrations.On 29 May 2010, Mayor David Miller officially opened the first phase of the Revitalization project: the Podium Green Roof Garden. The 1.1 ha roof garden includes diverse plantings of sedums, perennials, and trees; a Central Courtyard beneath the Council Chamber; a Public Terrace at the southeast corner of the roof, shaded by a tree planter; benches and shade structures designed to reveal the movement of the sun; and a .5 km perimeter path which acts as a walking and running circuit around the roof. New lighting has been installed, including new high-efficiency LED floodlights and a perimeter light band, to allow evening events to take place.

Features

The square, which sits atop one of the world's largest underground parking garages,is paved predominantly with two sizes of reinforced concrete slabs, amongst which sit a reflecting pool that serves as a skating rink in winter months, a food and skate rental kiosk, a peace garden, and the sculpture Three-Way Piece No. 2 (The Archer) by Henry Moore. Around the perimeter of the piazza runs an elevated concrete walkway, with a connection to the Sheraton Hotel across Queen Street, but which, due to budget limitations, presently remains closed for much of the year. Outside this walkway are treed lawns dotted with various other memorials and monuments, such as Oscar Nemon's statue of Sir Winston Churchill,and a Roman column.Spanning the reflecting pool are three concrete arches; originally just an architectural feature and support for rink lighting, these were dedicated as the Freedom Arches in 1989, to commemorate those who fought to obtain or defend freedom. At the same time, a piece of the Berlin Wall was placed at the southern base of the central arch.Peace GardenThe Peace Garden was created as a memorial to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, as well as the "commitment of Torontonians to the principle of world peace."The sundial at the south end of the garden pre-exists the peace memorial; inscribed with the words "In appreciation of the opportunity to serve," it was originally installed in 1969, designed by G.R. Johnson (in consultation with H.H. Rogers and John C. Parkin), and presented by Nathan Phillips to the residents of Toronto. Fifteen years later, during the city'ssesquicentennial, then Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau turned the first sod for the Peace Garden, which was to sit immediately north of, but also incorporate, the pre-exsiting sundial. The 600 m² (1800 ft²) garden consists of a pavilion, a fountain, and surrounding plantings. The gazebo is a stone-clad cube with arched openings on all sides, capped with a pitched roof, and with one corner of the structure is deconstructed, to signify conflict and the fragility of civilization. The fountain's pool encroaches into this removed corner, with an eternal flame placed in the water so as to appear as though it supports the pavilion structure, to symbolise hope and regeneration. Pope John Paul II lit this flame with an ember from the Peace Flame in Hiroshima, and poured into the pool water from the rivers that flow through Nagasaki. The entire monument was formally dedicated by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, in October 1984.