PAT HANSON
BFA, MArch, OAA, AAA, FRAIC
Founding Principal, Creative Director, gh3
Pat Hanson is the Founding Principal and Creative Director of gh3, a Toronto-based architecture, landscape and urban design practice renowned as one of Canada’s most innovative and progressive. Throughout her career, Pat has advanced an agenda of environmental sustainability and ecological resilience, creating meaningful connections between architecture and landscape design particularly in an urban context. Project innovations seen in the Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Facility Master Plan, Edmonton’s Real Time Control Building #3, the Natural Swimming Pool and the Toronto Stormwater Quality Facility, are the culmination of her extensive engagement with urban water issues, representing a model of sustainable city building. Pat has received five Governor General Medals in Architecture for projects across Canada, with three specifically related to urban water.
Pat’s dedication to the future vitality of our cities goes beyond gh3’s work. As a member of both the Waterfront Toronto and University of Toronto Design Review Panels, Pat has advised Waterfront Toronto and the University of Toronto on consequential issues, adjudicated international design competitions, guided corporate strategies and advocated for responsible, resilient development. Committed to advancing the profession and supporting young designers, Pat has taught at the schools of architecture at University of Toronto and University of Waterloo.
Pat is a former senior adviser to BEAT, (Building Equity in Architecture Toronto); an organization dedicated to promoting equality in the profession and was a founding member of the Women’s Architectural League in 1985. Pat was inducted into the RAIC College of Fellows in 2014, named a WLI champion by the Urban Land Institute in 2015, and was recognized by the International arcVision Prize for Women and Architecture in 2016.
BFA, MArch, OAA, AAA, FRAIC
Founding Principal, Creative Director, gh3
Pat Hanson is the Founding Principal and Creative Director of gh3, a Toronto-based architecture, landscape and urban design practice renowned as one of Canada’s most innovative and progressive. Throughout her career, Pat has advanced an agenda of environmental sustainability and ecological resilience, creating meaningful connections between architecture and landscape design particularly in an urban context. Project innovations seen in the Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Facility Master Plan, Edmonton’s Real Time Control Building #3, the Natural Swimming Pool and the Toronto Stormwater Quality Facility, are the culmination of her extensive engagement with urban water issues, representing a model of sustainable city building. Pat has received five Governor General Medals in Architecture for projects across Canada, with three specifically related to urban water.
Pat’s dedication to the future vitality of our cities goes beyond gh3’s work. As a member of both the Waterfront Toronto and University of Toronto Design Review Panels, Pat has advised Waterfront Toronto and the University of Toronto on consequential issues, adjudicated international design competitions, guided corporate strategies and advocated for responsible, resilient development. Committed to advancing the profession and supporting young designers, Pat has taught at the schools of architecture at University of Toronto and University of Waterloo.
Pat is a former senior adviser to BEAT, (Building Equity in Architecture Toronto); an organization dedicated to promoting equality in the profession and was a founding member of the Women’s Architectural League in 1985. Pat was inducted into the RAIC College of Fellows in 2014, named a WLI champion by the Urban Land Institute in 2015, and was recognized by the International arcVision Prize for Women and Architecture in 2016.
Project Spotlight
BORDEN PARK NATURAL SWIMMING POOL
The Borden Park Natural Swimming Pool is Canada’s first chemical-free public outdoor pool. It replaces an existing pool and includes a seasonal change and staff pavilion and landscaped area for 400 people. The swimming program includes a children’s pool, a deep pool, on–deck outdoor showers, a sandy beach, picnic areas, and spaces for other pool related recreational activities.
The pool’s ecosystem balances plant materials, microorganisms, and nutrients within a gravel and sand filtering process to create “living water.” Filtration occurs through a biological-mechanical system or constructed wetland and gravel filter, and in situ with zooplankton, without using soil. This chemical-free system uses membranes to filter the water. On deck, water passes through a sand and stone submersible pond pump and a planted hydro-botanic pond. Adjacent ponds have a granular filter PO4 adsorption unit enclosed by gabion walls.
The seasonal building includes universal change rooms, showers, washrooms, staff areas, and water filtration mechanisms. The pool precinct features a seamless interface among the sandy beach, concrete pool perimeter, and wood decking. Gabion walls of the low rectilinear building end with a flat roof, framing the tree canopy and enhancing the open-sky spaciousness. The design uses stone, gravel, sand, and botanical filtering to cleanse the water. The change room facility features gabion basket stone walls, evoking the idea of filtration.
The design and materials of the project create a connection between the pool’s technical demands and its built environment. The dark locally sourced limestone and steel gabion walls define the enclosure as filter-like or breathable. Natural swimming pools promote sustainability, exercise, wellbeing, social gathering, and community building, offering a chemical-free swimming experience.
BORDEN PARK NATURAL SWIMMING POOL
The Borden Park Natural Swimming Pool is Canada’s first chemical-free public outdoor pool. It replaces an existing pool and includes a seasonal change and staff pavilion and landscaped area for 400 people. The swimming program includes a children’s pool, a deep pool, on–deck outdoor showers, a sandy beach, picnic areas, and spaces for other pool related recreational activities.
The pool’s ecosystem balances plant materials, microorganisms, and nutrients within a gravel and sand filtering process to create “living water.” Filtration occurs through a biological-mechanical system or constructed wetland and gravel filter, and in situ with zooplankton, without using soil. This chemical-free system uses membranes to filter the water. On deck, water passes through a sand and stone submersible pond pump and a planted hydro-botanic pond. Adjacent ponds have a granular filter PO4 adsorption unit enclosed by gabion walls.
The seasonal building includes universal change rooms, showers, washrooms, staff areas, and water filtration mechanisms. The pool precinct features a seamless interface among the sandy beach, concrete pool perimeter, and wood decking. Gabion walls of the low rectilinear building end with a flat roof, framing the tree canopy and enhancing the open-sky spaciousness. The design uses stone, gravel, sand, and botanical filtering to cleanse the water. The change room facility features gabion basket stone walls, evoking the idea of filtration.
The design and materials of the project create a connection between the pool’s technical demands and its built environment. The dark locally sourced limestone and steel gabion walls define the enclosure as filter-like or breathable. Natural swimming pools promote sustainability, exercise, wellbeing, social gathering, and community building, offering a chemical-free swimming experience.
