Preserving and Celebrating the Natural Heritage 

Our design for Therme Canada | Ontario Place goes to great lengths to preserve the legacy of Michael Hough’s landscape design. But we know that natural heritage didn’t start in the 1970’s. 

Long before Ontario Place was developed, the Lake Ontario shoreline had a thriving ecosystem, balanced between native vegetation and aquatic habitats. That isn’t the case today.  

The design for the public space celebrates the natural landscape along Lake Ontario and features flora and fauna that are native to this part of Ontario. 

Visiting the West Headland-Oak Point 

Nestled on the West Island in the nearly 12-acres of new public space, the West Headland-Oak Point will feature trees that are native to the province and will help the area live up to its name: red oak, white oak, bur oak, chinkapin oak, and Shumard oak. Other plants native to the province will include nannyberry and Canadian goldenrod. 

Like the East Headland, the West Headland will be a look out point for visitors, providing stunning panoramic views of Lake Ontario, Toronto, and the Therme building. Visitors will be able to access the area from spacious new trails that lead them to Lake Ontario where they can watch sunsets from the edge of the water every single day of the year. 

A sunken amphitheatre at the West Headland will allow visitors to take in a concert or play or gather for a public art show. The area will be protected from the wind by earthen berms and green-roofed canopies will provide shade from the sun and cover from the rain. Sprawling biking and walking trails will lead park-goers to the site and tiered stonework will take them to the edge of the water.