Toronto-based firm PARTISANS has unveiled its next-generation vision for the rural community of Innisfil, located 60 kilometres north of Toronto. Entitled The Orbit, the plan for the rual community was created with support from Cortel Group.
Rendering courtesy of Norm Li
The vision recognizes Innisfil for its distinct context and character. Instead of sprawling with low-rise strip malls and single-family housing, the Orbit advocates for constructing terraced, mixed-use mid- and high-rise buildings to protect the town?s agricultural land.
PARTISANS? plan was sparked by the addition of a Metrolinx rail station, which is set to open in 2022. Innisfil envisages the rapid growth of the town, which is close to Pearson International Airport and equidistant from the City of Toronto and cottaging region of the Muskokas. The new plan depicts the densification of the town with the train station at its centre and concentric rings of new services, trails and neighbourhoods ?orbiting? around it. As the plan expands outwards, the circular rings flatten into squares, melding with the existing grid of the region. The plan is inspired by the English Garden City movement, Israeli Moshav communities, and Burning Man. ?The Orbit is a clean slate to reimagine how a community of tomorrow is built today. Mobility, innovative streets and infrastructure, streetscapes, a digital and connected community with a vibrant and robust modern economy based on critical thinking, new tech agriculture, artifici...