The scheme combines one big architectural and landscape element with other more modest moves into one structure. There are the bones of a really practical, pragmatic project.

'Harbour Landing' defies simple categorization – a ferry terminal, an urban park for active water-based activities, a retreat and an oasis for office workers and residents. The park is an urban getaway for people living along the waterfront and an introduction to the waterfront for visitors to Toronto. The design vision re-imagines Harbour Landing as an integral part of a continuous network of renewed public space that envelops the site and provides an animated and dynamic public space for all seasons.

The organic form of the park with rolling hillocks, whose gently sloping topography elevated from street level, offers visitors dramatic harbour views and a panoramic backdrop of the Toronto Islands. The landscape approach is also echoed in the design of the Ferry Terminal, and its undulating rooftop extends the park experience. The terminal’s green roof is universally accessible via gently sloping ramps. The public can survey the shoreline from this ‘gained park space’, which provides an irresistible belvedere. The main walkway will be extended to lead from Queens Quay and Bay  Street all the way down to the ticket booths. Soon, visitors can enjoy a wider promenade with a granite mosaic and a new interactive signposting system utilizing giant periscopes when approaching the island gateway.

The new park and ferry terminal will become a central feature of Toronto, a “landing” place where the city meets the lake. 'Harbour Landing' works in 360 degrees, addressing both the landside and waterside and is poised to become a new icon for the city and a counterbalance to the urban life at the Toronto Waterfront. The master plan is designed to be implemented in phases over time as funding becomes available. Construction of Phase 1A started in late October 2017.

The winning proposal, which the design team dubbed Harbour Landing, combines the two functions of terminal and park into one structure. It imagines the terminal as two small pavilions coupled with a broad "berm," a wooden structure topped with a green roof. The top of the berm would effectively become part of a park, which also would include lawns, glades of trees and flowerbeds and a piazza paved in brick.