Memorial Square

The re-development of Memorial Square & Meridian Place provided PMA Landscape Architects the opportunity to transform a seldom used memorial space and downtown parking lot into a vital community hub in the core of downtown Barrie. Collaborating closely with Rutherford Contracting and through a series of stakeholder engagement sessions, PMA developed a design concept for a landmark landscape that will extend the influence of the existing Memorial Square and proposed Meridian Place into the city’s increasingly vibrant downtown BIA and network of waterfront spaces.

The layering of cultural and historic values atop an undeniably urban space aims to strengthen the connection between the vibrant downtown streetscape and the beautiful shoreline of the Bay. Framing spaces and views from within and throughout the space, the material palette of local limestone, bronze detailing, smooth concrete, and a rich planting palette of native species, provides a collectively subtle yet aesthetically rich backdrop for the two distinct yet unified urban plazas that comprise the site.