Urban Design Challenge: A Student Ideas Competition

Repairing the urban fabric to create a more vibrant core area for the capital

This year’s competition focussed on repairing and re-stitching the urban fabric in the core area of the National Capital Region. Students were asked to submit proposals to address vacant and under-utilized street lots where improvements from an urban design perspective could enhance the public experience through innovative planning and design ideas for the Sussex Drive corridor.

The jury is in, and the winning design ideas are…

Ten schools from across Canada participated in this year’s challenge and we received proposals from 19 teams. The jury has finished deliberating and it’s time to see their designs, which are at once thought-provoking and ingenuous, connected, convivial and inclusive.

The NCC would like to thank all those who participated in the 2023 challenge.

Meet the winning teams

Winners

Rideau Connection
Students: Stephen Hickson, Arzen Chan and Christina Hoang
School: McGill University

Runners-up

Animating Sussex Drive in the Core of Canada’s Capital
Students: Makenna Humes, Sara Wehbi and Homa Jalili Safarian
School: Queen’s University

Honourable mention: Most thought-provoking

Reclaim the Waterfront
Students: Molly Barkowsky, Taryn Plater and Sara Pavan
School: University of British Columbia

Honourable mention: Jury appreciation

Riverside Ribbon
Students: Lauren Mac Isaac, Emma Cervinka and Catherine Yan
School: University of Guelph

Meet the jury

A jury of interdisciplinary planning, urbanism, design and site management professionals reviewed the submissions and selected the competition winners:

See this year's students' presentations:

Floor audio

About the 2023 Challenge