RAW_TO

Where movement meets gathering. The Town Square and bridge work together as the social heart of the Cultural Precinct - linking programs while creating space for everyday life and large civic events. Below, the Square is designed as a flexible public landscape: an outdoor reading room, amphitheatre, and splash pad that transforms into a skating loop in winter, all animated by seasonal planting and a canopy of light. Above, the bridge connects the Cultural Centre and Library, widening at its midpoint to create an informal lounge that overlooks the activity below. Together, they frame a continuous experience - where circulation becomes occupation, and public space extends across ground and sky. Photography: @jamesbrittainphotographs (photos 1,2,3,6,7,8,9) @nemeskeri (photos 4,5,10) #RAWDesign #CivicArchitecture #CanadianArchitecture #Placemaking #TownSquare

A library reconnected to its community. The renovation and expansion of the Aurora Public Library repositions it as a central anchor within the Cultural Precinct - strengthening its relationship to both Yonge Street and the new Town Square. New entrances, a reading garden, and flexible lounge and meeting spaces extend the library beyond its walls, supporting a range of uses from quiet study to community gathering. A new bridge links the library directly to the Cultural Centre, reinforcing the precinct as a fully integrated civic destination. The result is a more accessible, connected, and contemporary civic space - designed to evolve alongside the community it serves. Photography: @jamesbrittainphotographs (photos 1,5) @jon.r.s (photos 2,3,4,6) #RAWDesign #CivicArchitecture #CanadianArchitecture #Placemaking #TownSquare

Where heritage meets contemporary culture. The Aurora Cultural Centre is a significant addition to the historic 1885 Church Street Schoolhouse - an important example of adaptive reuse that anchors the site across three centuries of built form. A triple-height glazed atrium separates and connects old and new, creating a clear dialogue between heritage and contemporary intervention. The Centre expands the Town’s cultural programming with dance and visual arts studios, galleries, a music recording and performance hall, and an enhanced museum and archives - bringing both creation and preservation under one roof. At its core is a flexible 250-seat black-box theatre with retractable seating and variable acoustics, designed to transform from performance space to recording venue, to community gathering space. A cohesive wayfinding strategy was developed as part of the project, extending the architectural language into signage and graphics to create a clear, accessible, and unified experience across the facility. Photography: @jamesbrittainphotographs #RAWDesign #CivicArchitecture #CanadianArchitecture #Placemaking #TownSquare

A new civic heart for Aurora. The Aurora Cultural Precinct brings together the Cultural Centre, Public Library, and Town Square into a unified public destination - connecting culture, learning, and everyday life. Brought to life in collaboration with the talented team at @theplanningpartnership , the project transforms a collection of buildings into a cohesive, accessible, and vibrant community hub. At its centre, the Town Square operates as a social condenser - supporting concerts, markets, and everyday gathering - while seamlessly linking indoor and outdoor programming across the site. A new pedestrian bridge connects the library and cultural centre, weaving together a fully integrated cultural experience in the heart of Aurora. Photography: @jon.r.s (photos 1-3) @jamesbrittainphotographs (photos 4,5) #RAWDesign #CivicArchitecture #CanadianArchitecture #Placemaking #TownSquare

We're excited to announce that The Winston has been nominated for the 2026 BILD People’s Choice Award. With voting now open until May 13, we would truly appreciate your support. Vote here: /2026bildawards/en/page/pca We also invite you to visit our presentation gallery to experience the community firsthand and learn more about what’s ahead. 📍 5151 Yonge St, North York, ON 🔗 thewinstoncollection.ca 📞 (416) 733-3667

RAW Design’s free Student Summer Camp returns August 17-21 - a week of hands-on creativity, design challenges, field trips, and real talk about how we shape the world around us through design. This camp is built for students in grades 6–12 who are curious about architecture, design, and the creative industries. Whether you’re just discovering design or already dreaming of becoming an architect, we’ll help you build skills, confidence, and connections to carry with you through high school and beyond. 📣 Focused on empowering students from underrepresented communities, this camp is about opening doors, sparking ideas, and making space for new voices in architecture. Thank you to the @oaarchitects and @tosoarch for their support! 🗓 August 17–21, 2026 ⏰ 10am–3pm (Mon–Thurs) | 10am–1pm (Fri) 📍 Free to attend - food included! 📬 Registration link in our bio 📧 Contact Suleman Khan at [email protected] if ups like to learn more!

Woven Edge draws inspiration from the front porch - a familiar symbol of welcome, conversation, and everyday life. Working with the community of Shaker Heights, Ohio, we extended this tradition into the park, creating a gentle threshold where neighbourhood and landscape meet.   Shaped for gathering, leaning, pausing, and looking out, the bench’s curved form and warm wood slats echo the craft and rhythm of porch architecture. It becomes a place for small daily moments: where children wait for friends, neighbours exchange a few words, and families pause during their walks.   As you move along the bench, two painted faces quietly reveal themselves. Their colours shift with each step, bringing a subtle sense of movement and reflecting the layered stories of the community.   Design: RAW Work Fabricator: Manka Design Studio Photography: @sulemannkhann , Robert Muller #RAWWork #PublicArt #ShakerHeights #CommunityDesign #urbanfurniture

RAW Work - the public art branch of RAW Design - creates installations that connect architecture, craft, and community. Woven Edge is our latest public art project, developed with the City of Shaker Heights for Hildana Park in the Moreland neighbourhood near Cleveland.   Community engagement shaped the project from the beginning. Through workshops and conversations with residents, one theme kept emerging: the front porch - a place where neighbours gather, conversations happen, and everyday life spills into the street. Woven Edge translates that idea into a contemporary public structure. Layered wood slats form a woven bench that invites sitting, leaning, pausing, and gathering - extending the spirit of the porch into the park. Stay tuned for the final installation reveal.   Design: RAW Work Fabricator: Manka Design Studio @manka_design   #RAWWork #PublicArt #ShakerHeights #CommunityDesign #UrbanFurniture

✨WORKSHOP VENUE: @rawdesignto ✨ Swipe to explore workshops happening here 💗 About RAW Design: Their studio at 22 Geary is more than an architecture office - it is a working space that we are shaping into a community hub. While it functions as their daily design studio, it is also a place for conversations, workshops, exhibitions, and collaborations that extend beyond our practice. We see the space growing when café opens and a gathering spot where designers, neighbors, students, and creatives can meet, share ideas, and connect. It is a space rooted in design, but open to the community - a platform for dialogue, learning, and culture within the Geary neighborhood. ✨ In addition to workshops @designtofestival Installation: Molly Valentine Dierks (@mvdierks ) Light installation that runs after sunset. Titled after a sci-fi novel by Robert Heinlein, ‘The Moon is a Harsh Mistress’ is a series of pastel LED light forms, glowing ‘drawings’ that explore tension, between nature and technology, mystery and resolution, closure and longing…. — Join Geary Art Crawl this March 7–8 for FREE artist-run workshops across Geary Ave and a central hub with music, food, and drinks. Expect art installations in unexpected spaces, pop-ups, and participation from your favourite Geary businesses. 🔗 Full workshop list at gearyartcrawl.com Link in bio

This year’s Winter Stations Opening Night Reception was one for the books! ✨ We laughed, we drank, and we heard incredible presentations from this year’s winning artists and student teams. Thank you to RAW Design for lending us your stunning Geary space, to all the party people who brought amazing energy, and to our beverage sponsors @junctioncraft , @woodhousebeer , and @cottagesprings — we especially couldn’t have done it without you!  The exhibition is already up on the beach! ❄️  Artists: CHIMERA by @denys.horodnyak @enzozaklux.xyz SPECULARIA by @kralc_werdna @tornado.soup EMBRACE by @willcuthbert.3d CREST by @f__rmlab GLACIATE BY @dastorontomet Photography by @joelgale.imaging

Need some colour to brighten the winter doldrums? Join us on Family Day (Feb 16) for Winter Stations Opening Day at Woodbine Beach! Opening remarks begin at 10:45 AM at this year’s installation CHIMERA by @denys.horodnyak and @enzozaklux.xyz Hear from @katcampitelli (Public Art Officer, City of Toronto) and @jasonthorne_rpp (Chief Planner, City of Toronto) as they reflect on the role of public art in shaping our city. Courtney Chard, pipewelder and metal artist, who helped fabricate CHIMERA in partnership with our sponsor @ontariopipetrades , will also share insights into the craft behind the installation. Afterwards, join us for an exhibition tour with four of this year’s artists and school teams! SPECULARIA by @kralc_werdna @tornado.soup EMBRACE by @willcuthbert.3d CREST by @f_rmlab @uofwaterloo GLACIATE by @dastorontomet @torontomet @mcu1957 See you all on the beach! ❄️

It’s a big day for us today… CONRAD HAS ARRIVED TO KINGSTON!!! 🦝🦝🦝 Many more posts and stories to come about our 2026 mascot 🍿🎬🎞️ Special thanks to: our Broom-mates @rawdesignto and also thanks to @winter.stations @downtownkingston @city.of.kingston Conrad is designed by Novak Djogo @novakdjogo and Daniel Vanderhorst @vanderhorstdan and fabricated by @anex_works ✨ Visit kingcanfilmfest.com to learn more about Conrad!