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ERA Architects

Projects

Collingwood Farm

...and comfortable environment. As traditional farm houses of Collingwood reflect a response the region’s rugged landscape and heavy snow falls, we set out to engage the landscape and capture an authentic ‘farm-cottage’ feel both inside & out. We achieved this goal by selecting a limited palette of materials, drawing influence from the neighbouring buildings. Painted board and batten were chosen...

Îlot Bonsecours – PHI Contemporain

...to identify its heritage values and the character-defining elements. The second objective was to understand the challenges involved in the adaptive reuse of the site and to identify the conservation guidelines and approaches for the site as a whole, as well for each building. The study was used as a reference during the international architecture competition “Phi Contemporary”, to guide...

Bombardier Centre for Aerospace and Aviation

...from development pressures. In 1996 when CFB Downsview was closed, the city had matured around the site for almost 60 years. In 1999 the property was designated Canada’s first urban national park, with an international competition launched in 2000, won by OMA’s Tree City entry. In 2012 the Downsview Secondary Plan was created, introducing a modified street network, and defining...

Hamilton Downtown Built Heritage Inventory

The Downtown Built Heritage Inventory (DBHI) is a pilot project that proposes a new, Hamilton-specific methodology to understand, characterize, and map Hamilton’s downtown heritage resources. Inspired by emerging international best practices in heritage planning, this methodology aligns with the Ontario Heritage Act and Planning Act, but also utilizes other strategies for evaluating historic resources, such as the “historic context statement.”...

Victoria University in the University of Toronto

...developed conservation goals to support urban planning and development in a manner that conserves cultural heritage value, considerations for a new Secondary Plan for the St. George Campus, and individual evaluations for three mid-20th century resources. The combined result is a framework to support the University’s prestigious role, status and identity in a layered campus balancing stewardship with continual renewal....

Milton Heritage Properties Business Strategy

...Any solution would have to make thoughtful use of the buildings and land, enhance the public realm, and be financially viable. In service of these goals, the report details the site’s historic and planning context; analyzes its natural, cultural, and built heritage value; applies business analytics to a wide range of adaptive reuse scenarios; and finally makes a number of...

Exploratory typo-morphological study of Île-d’OrlΓ©ans

...Communications of Quebec (MCCQ) will replace the existing Conservation Plan with a by-law framework to guide the analysis and authorization of development and construction projects within the site. ERA was given the mandate to explore how a typo-morphological study of this large territory could support the development of the new by-laws for its various landscape units. To beginning, the team...

Senate of Canada Building

...meeting the project’s functional and technical requirements. Interior elements, such as imitation travertine and marble and woodwork, were repaired and refinished. In addition, previous insertions in the significant interior spaces, such as the General Waiting Room and Concourse spaces were removed. Given the building’s rich character, it is well suited to accommodate the Senate programme and support its ceremonial traditions....

Selma GΓΆteberg

ERA and Arup collaborated to join a number of European firms in a parallel commission to reimagine the Swedish suburb of Selma Göteberg. Surprisingly, the neighbourhood bore a number of interesting similarities to Toronto suburbs, including post-war modernist planning strategies (Toronto’s inspired in part by Swedish thinkers, in fact), aging 1960s infrastructure, a diverse resident community of newcomers, and a...

What lies beneath: Article series by Scott Weir

Toronto has a huge stock of Georgian, Victorian, and other heritage homes. It is not uncommon for these fine structures to have had many of their original qualities removed or obscured by generations of renovations and repairs. This series of National Post articles by ERA’s Scott Weir explores a number of ideas surrounding heritage homes, and instructs on a number...

Concrete Toronto Map

...the material during rapid post-war development and its role in defining the City and surrounding suburbs to this day. Pinpointed projects stretch across the Greater Toronto Area– from Etobicoke to Scarborough. In partnership with Blue Crow Media, and with original photography by Jason Woods, the Concrete Toronto Map joins a family of international city guide maps which feature distinct local...

The Tower Renewal Project

...works to establish a framework through which Tower Renewal can be scaled across Canada, by supporting public and private stakeholder itineraries, conducting applied research, convening core stakeholders, and implementing demonstration projects. TRP also brings together best practices in energy retrofit, planning policy, green financing, and social entrepreneurship through its international research program. Visit the Tower Renewal website to learn more....