May 2025 Newsletter

Two awards and Doors Open tours for The Sara Jackman Playground

The Sara Jackman Playground is having a wonderful spring: the outdoor activity area at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study Lab School (JICS Lab School) just won a Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) National Award of Excellence and also received a Special Mention in the Architizer A+ Awards. (The 2025 Architizer A+ Gallery will go live in June.) And now you can book a tour of this vibrant, multi-level play hub as part of the annual Doors Open Toronto festival! (Tours are free, but must be booked in advance.) Lisa Rapoport, PLANT's partner in charge on this project, leads May 24 tours at 10 am and noon. JICS Lab School Principal Richard Messina and Vice Principal Chriss Bogert will be on hand to provide their perspectives on how this unique set of creative play destinations promotes mental and physical development while strengthening kids’ connection to nature.

Designed for use in multiple, simultaneous ways by students ranging in age from three to thirteen, the playground embodies the principles of the ‘risky’ play movement, which stresses the importance of giving kids opportunities to test their physical prowess, within limits appropriate to each child.

The playground is not normally open to the public, but tour participants on Doors Open Saturday will get a close look at attractions including The Potato (a colourfully shingled storage shed that moonlights as both a ‘cave’ and a climbable loft space) and the multi-purpose Log Mound (climb it, sit on it, scoot down it in winter on a sled). Even the accessibility ramp introduces an engaging combo of play spaces, ranging from a secret sensory garden to sandpit-bordering niches. If you’d like to read up on The Sara Jackman Playground before your visit, check out this Designlines article by Stefan Novakovic.

PLANT's work showcased in new Toronto Interiors book

. . . and speaking of Designlines, we always enjoyed working with Catherine MacIntosh when she was that publication’s editor. Now we’re delighted to share that four of our recent residential projects – Booth Avenue, Dilworth, Airdrie Road, and First Avenue – will be featured in her upcoming book, Toronto Interiors. Coming to a bookstore near you in September 2025, this full-colour, hardcover book showcases 90 of the places design-minded people call home in Canada’s most diverse city.