Orillia (pop. 33,000) is a small municipality with an incredible waterfront along Lake Couchiching that forms part of the Trent-Severn Waterway. Known as the "Sunshine City," the city attracts many tourists to the area every year, along with several annual festivals and cultural attractions. In 2012, the City adopted a long-term plan to improve the connection between its downtown and waterfront, eventually acquiring a key parcel of land to facilitate in 2016 the realization of its vision. In 2020, SvN led the design for one of two finalists competing for a multi-phased approach to redeveloping this 8.6-acre site.

Our design proposal included an entirely new neighbourhood along a new urban promenade punctuated by eight public spaces linking a new mixed-use program with the city. Our multi-phased building approach stitches Orillia's waterfront into the city, enabling residents and visitors alike to engage with their natural surroundings and promote local food production through community gardens and year-round greenhouses.

At the core of our proposal, we proposed using mass timber design and construction wherever possible to deliver a new economically, socially and environmentally sustainable community for a post-carbon future. The project includes townhouses, mid-rise residential developments with retail, parking structures and an art parkette. We also propose adding a hotel and plaza, stepped gardens and civic square—all interconnected to low-rise walk-up residential and live/work spaces with additional retail and hospitality.

SvN linked Orillia's lumber-related past to its future through wood design. By bringing the past into focus, we hope that Orillia's future waterfront will perpetuate a future narrative that celebrates its wood-related history.