Downsview Memorial Parkette

Also known as MOTH Gardens, this corner park was designed in collaboration with notable Canadian artist Jeannie Thib. To honour the area’s important aviation history, we created a central sculptural garden that spells out the word MOTH, acknowledging the Gypsy and Tiger Moth aircraft that were once built nearby. The plantings around each letter provide unique sensory experiences.

A soldiers’ memorial is integrated into the sculpture, and other aviation references include wind socks and blue aviation runway lighting. Plants and grasses offer a range of seasonal variations to be enjoyed from both sunny and shaded seating areas. A grid of ornamental pear trees encloses the park, referencing the many orchards that were part of the community’s agriculture past. The park’s sustainable plant selection and grading design makes it low maintenance, requiring no irrigation. Our MOTH Garden concept was the winner of the design competition for this project.