For the next 10 days, all 150,000 sq. ft of the abandoned East Harbour factory at 21 Don Roadway will be transformed into an ultramodern world where design and technology is brought to bear on pressing social issues.
EDIT: Expo for Design, Innovation & Technology, which runs September 28 to October 8, is an immersive festival celebrating the innovative solutions of design thinkers worldwide. From crickets that can combat global hunger to drones delivering blood to remote communities, these are the projects, participatory experiences, talks, installations and workshops that are making a difference. Here are the top five must-attend events.
Installation: The Lowline Underground Park
Manhattan’s proposed Lowline is the world’s first subterranean urban park. Powered by a system of remote skylights that will direct natural light underground, it will provide green space beneath the New York City’s streets, as well as agricultural land capable of growing produce. The Lowline Lab, a prototype that was on display in an abandoned Lower East Side building until March of this year, will be recreated on East Harbour’s second floor. Experience the simulated underground environment while exploring the possibilities of urban agriculture.
September 28-October 8, Floor 02, all day
Panel: Boom Goes the City – Design and Development in Toronto
The city’s built environment is growing exponentially. But the rapid pace leaves scant room to pause and reflect on how the skyline and streetscapes are being affected. Toronto the good may just transform into Toronto the homogeneous if the undifferentiated architecture of the city’s condos isn’t matched by a conversation on how best to create a built environment deserving of the city’s diversity. The panel offers the chance to hear from Toronto’s outgoing Chief City Planner Jennifer Keesmaat, who joins city developer Ian Gillespie, Alex Josephson, co-founder of architecture firm PARTISANS and Where We Live author Jay Pitter in conversation.
September 30, 1st Floor Funnel Room, 12:30 pm
Workshop: Land Art Generator
Get hands on by helping to create a public artwork that generates clean power for thousands of homes. Participants of this full-day workshop will collaborate on the design of a land art generator on the Todmorden Mills Heritage Site. Hosted by the Land Art Generator Initiative, an incubator of human-centered solutions for sustainable energy infrastructures, the workshop features a walking tour of the site, light brunch and return transportation.
September 30, Todmorden Mills Heritage Site (67 Pottery Rd), 10:30 am-5 pm
Talk: Ian Campeau of A Tribe Called Red
EDIT will play host to a Toronto version of the United Nations Development Program’s Social Good Summit, which brings the intersection of new media and technology to the conversation of building a more equitable world by 2030. Keynote speaker Ian Campeau, one-third of electronic music collective A Tribe Called Red, will discuss his role as an emerging Indigenous thought leader and his promotion of inclusivity, empathy and acceptance in the fight for social justice.
October 1, 6th Floor Main Stage, 3 pm
Event: Feeding the 5000
Eat a meal made of food that would otherwise be thrown in the trash. Global campaign Feeding the 5000 comes to the city for EDIT’s grand finale. Highlighting the worldwide food waste scandal (1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year), a gigantic communal meal will be prepared and served. Hosted by Food Network’s Bob Blumer, the event will feature demos, cook-offs and calls to action while raising awareness about the one billion pounds of food wasted in Toronto last year.
October 8, Outside the TK, 1-4 pm, free event
christiner@nowtoronto.com | @missrattan
