PLANT’s message to Tory: Embrace the unsexy

We were happy to take part in the Letters to the Mayor/​Developer exhibition at Toronto’s recent EDIT festival of design, innovation and technology. Organized by PARTISANS and Storefront for Art and Architecture, this was one of several EDIT installations and events held in a former soap factory. One hundred architecture practices were asked to write a letter to Mayor John Tory or a developer of their choice to spark debate on how to build Toronto’s future. The letters snaked through the space along a ‘conveyor belt’ of ideas. PLANT’s letter urged Mayor Tory to follow through on major design initiatives by investing in their maintenance. “We build new parks, and then cut back maintenance budgets. We revitalize our civic spaces, then don’t provide the staff levels to keep the weeds from growing,” the letter read in part. Maintenance may not be sexy, but it’s essential. We hope Mayor Tory will make it part of his legacy to keep Toronto’s great assets beautiful for a long time to come. (image: Nina Azzarello | designboom)