A new design competition for a centralized information kiosk at Artscape's Wychwood Barns might offer a few lessons for the folks at Astral, who've littered the city with its oft criticized street furniture since winning a major contract with the City of Toronto in 2007. Although the company contends that its bus shelters, information kiosks, and garbage cans have been well received, when you see what these Ryerson Architecture students have come up with for the Barns, it's hard not to want something better for the rest of the city.

Run through neighbourhood improvement startup Projexity, the competition's aims are straightforward: students were tasked with creating an outdoor information hub that respects the design of the existing Wychwood site. While not all 18 proposals are eye-catching, standouts like Newton Xian and Margot de Man's streetcar rail design as well as Anthony Gugliotta and Kyle Marren's futuristic-looking structure underscore the opportunity to do something stunning within the relative narrow confines of kiosk-design. The winner of the competition will be announced on February 18th at the Barns. Perhaps Astral should send a hiring committee along?

You can vote for your favourite design until January 26th on Projexity.