Storefront Manitoba and Winnipeg Trails are launching the 2023 Call for Proposals for the latest edition of Benchmark.

This year, Victoria Beach, Manitoba will be home to the winning proposal of the trails-based placemaking design competition. Now entering its sixth year, the 2023 Edition of Benchmark is a tribute to the late David Penner, the founder and longstanding Executive Director of Storefront Manitoba. David spent summers at the cottage in Victoria Beach with his family, friends, and dogs, and had many adventures along the trails in the area.
Photo credit: Stationpoint Photographic

?A large part of David?s legacy is his work with Storefront Manitoba, as an advocate for architecture and design for everyone. This edition of Benchmark is meant to honour David?s thoughtfulness, generosity, and commitment to enhancing the public realm. Creating a place in the forest for a quiet moment of pause, rest, and reflection is something he would have delighted in,? says Chris Wiebe, Benchmark 2023 Co-Curator.
The selected design will be located along the 8th to McCawley Trail, on the north edge of the Victoria Beach Golf Course. Located on Treaty 1 land, the 1.3 km long trail is part of the Victoria Beach Trans Canada Trail and the Borders to Beaches Trail, connecting the beaches of Lake Winnipeg to the Manitoba-Ontario border.

The Benchmark design challenge is open to local and international individuals and teams. Individuals and teams consisting of designers, archite...