Crest at Winter Stations 2026 | Architecture

A team of students from the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and the Department of Architectural Engineering has been selected as a winner in the 2026 Winter Stations international design competition. Their installation, Crest, is now on public exhibition at Woodbine Beach in Toronto until March 30.

Crest is a student-led, design-build installation produced by F_RMlab at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture for Winter Stations 2026, an international competition transforming Toronto’s lifeguard stations into immersive works of public art. This year’s theme, Mirage, invited participants to address the “boundary of what is seen and what is real in the age of AI”, exploring art as a medium that disengages from the digital world by immersing audiences in shared, tactile experiences.

Crest emerges from the sand and snow of the Toronto Beaches as a sweeping wave positioned moments before break. From a distance, the installation resembles a mere pile of driftwood on the beach. Approaching the structure, the geometry of the wave gradually reveals itself. The waffled plywood form acts as an illusion where individual elements shift and vanish depending on the viewer’s perspective, merging with the landscape beyond. The cantilever of the wave envelops and invites visitors to gather, sharing a moment to pause and take in the vast Lake Ontario coastline. Like the fleeting moment of a wave crashing onto shore, the installation serves as a reminder that reality is finite, and fulfillment is found in being present.

Constructed from CNC-fabricated maple plywood, Crest explores the expressive and structural potential of wood built to withstand harsh winter conditions. Its systematic design allows for efficient assembly, and material economy emphasizes sustainability and durability. Following the Winter Stations competition, the installation is planned to be reused for summer community events in Cambridge, Ontario.

The project engaged undergraduate and graduate students from architecture and architectural engineering programs in all stages of concept design and fabrication. Students gained hands-on experience in small-scale timber construction through design-build pedagogy, working collaboratively to cut, assemble, finish, and install the final project on-site.

Project led by F_RMlab, directors: Clay te Bokkel, Isabella Ieraci, Matthew Lam, Yuxuan Peng, Sasha Rao (AE), Simon Huang (AE) and David Shen (AE)

Supervisor: Fiona Lim Tung, John McMinn