Landscape and Urban Design
The Future of the Glass Tower?
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Tuesday, April 30, 6 pm, Art Gallery of Ontario, Seminar Room 1 (Weston Family Learning Centre) ERAer Graeme Stewart joins David Pontarini, Sam Crignano, and moderator Mathew Blackett for a Pug Talks presentation and discussion on the glass tower in the GTA. Toronto has 143 buildings 10 storeys or higher under construction, more than doubling...
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Erik Freudenthal of Sweden
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This April, ERA was pleased to co-host a special presentation by Erik Freudenthal, the Director of Information for Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm. In his discussion of this innovative “Symbiocity” approach to urban development, Erik demonstrated that low-carbon, sustainable communities really are achievable given a) the proper commitment and b) the appropriate strategies for material and resource management. The event also...
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April 25-27: Exhibition on landscape
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Please join us for the opening reception and exhibition of Gladstone Grow Op, an exploration of landscape and place curated by Victoria Taylor, OALA. Thursday, April 25 to Sunday, April 28. Opening reception: Friday, April 26, 7–10 pm Our contribution, Hoarding Suggestions, situated at the Gladstone Art Bar and sponsored by the Friends of Allan...
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Apr. 25 event: T.O.’s Priority Neighbourhoods
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ERA is pleased to be joining the University of Toronto’s Cities Centre and United Way Toronto for “Closing the Gaps,” a special event exploring how we can continue to work together to support Toronto’s Priority Neighbourhoods. This event will examine the journey since 2005, lessons learned, and steps moving forward. Thursday April 25, 2013 Innis...
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w/ Erik Freudenthal
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We are pleased to announce a visit by Erik Freudenthal, the Director of Information for Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm, who will present recent initiatives in leading low-carbon neighbourhood design. In addition to providing insight into the case study of Hammarby Sjöstad, the event will be an opportunity to examine locations in Toronto with the potential for...
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Attend Ryerson Planning Expo, March 23
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On Saturday March 23, ERA’s Graeme Stewart will be presenting as part of Ryerson’s School of Urban and Regional Planning “Expo 2013.” The day-long event features presentations, panel sessions, and workshops on various planning topics such as housing, community engagement, and active transportation/walkable communities. Other speakers include Greg Spearn, Chief Development Officer, Toronto Community Housing...
Read MoreEglinton’s Future: Public Workshops
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ERA Architects is proud to be part of a team that includes Brook McIlroy, planningAlliance, and Public Work, among others, in the planning and designing the forthcoming Eglinton Crosstown rapid transit corridor. Join us for the first rounds of public consultation February 19th, 26th, and 28th (see www.thecrosstown.ca for workshop details). The largest transit investment...
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ERA in Port Union, Nfld.
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ERA has begun consultations with the William Coaker Foundation and Port Union, Newfoundland, as part of the Culture of Outports program, and will be leading an exciting on-site project there in June 2013. Culture of Outports is a series of projects that uses research, design, and planning to engage and help support livable communities undergoing...
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ERA in Buffalo
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Recently, ERAers Alana Young and Josh Thorpe took trips to investigate the fascinating city of Buffalo, New York. Less than two hours from Toronto by car, Buffalo is a city of major historical significance to the region and has some stunning work in planning and architecture. Buffalo City Hall (1932), a prominent feature in the...
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Graeme Stewart interviewed on The Urbanist
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Monocle Radio recently interviewed ERA’s Graeme Stewart on The Urbanist, a weekly program on the people and ideas that shape urban life. In this week’s edition, Andrew Tuck speaks with Graeme about Toronto’s modernist legacy and the Tower Renewal program. You can listen to this interview online at Monocle.com #61.
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Tower Renewal Panel and Keynote Speaker
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When: Tues., Dec. 11, 2012, 5:30 to 7:30 PM Where: Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Avenue Recently we shared updates on the ongoing work of the City’s Tower Renewal Office, discussing new research in the field, and engaging with our special guest from Melbourne, Dr. Rebecca Leshinsky. The expert panel included: PEDRO BARATA, Vice President,...
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Append & tweak: Rethinking heritage in our suburbs
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An article by ERA associate Joey Giaimo was recently published in the latest APT Bulletin of the Association for Preservation Technology International. The article, “Append & Tweak: An Approach for Preserving the Evolving Suburban Landscape,” asks us to re-evaluate how we regard and manage heritage resources in suburban contexts, and argues for a cultural landscape...
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Silo 5 in Old Montreal
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This summer and fall, as part of Heritage Montreal’s Architectours program, ERA’s Jan Kubanek presented four walking tours of Silo 5, a monumental grain elevator complex at the mouth of the Lachine Canal in Old Montreal. The Silo 5 complex encompasses three separate buildings: Elevator B, dating to 1906 and built of steel plates; the...
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ACO NextGen tours Maple Leaf Gardens
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This November ERA principal Scott Weir led a Maple Leaf Gardens tour organized by the NextGen group of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO). NextGen is a branch of the ACO that provides educational and professional development opportunities for young architects, students, and heritage enthusiasts. Maple Leaf Gardens has served as a continuous hub of...
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Graeme Stewart on “Imagine a City”
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This autumn, United Way’s Imagine a City blog is hosting a series of guest writers to discuss a number of important programs related to Toronto’s future as a livable city. Recently ERA’s Graeme Stewart blogged on his vision for Tower Neighbourhood Renewal, a program we have been working on in collaboration with partners including the...
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Amendments to Heritage Policies in Toronto’s Official Plan
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The City of Toronto has just brought forward draft Official Plan Amendment No. 199 regarding Public Realm and Heritage policies. In May of this year, a staff report recommending the adoption of revised heritage policies was brought forward, and a public open house was scheduled. Prior to the public open house on September 10th, ERA...
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The city as garden
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Recently ERA’s Brendan Stewart gave a talk at Toronto’s Metro Hall, sponsored by LEAF and Park People, on the design potential of trees in cities. After setting the context of modern landscape design, beginning with André Le Nôtre’s French tradition and William Kent’s English tradition, the talk moved on to survey several interesting historical and...
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Ontario Place: Possible futures
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Currently on show at Toronto’s Urbanspace Gallery is a compelling exhibition on Ontario Place and its future. Ontario Place was designed in the late 1960s by Eberhard Zeidler and launched in 1971 as a spectacular architectural innovation that attempted to rethink our relationship to the lake. Earlier this year the Government of Ontario announced that...
Read MoreTrees in Public Space: ERA’s Brendan Stewart Speaks
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International Influences: Inspiring Ideas for Trees in Public Space, August 16, 2012, 7pm, Metro Hall, Toronto Presented in collaboration with LEAF and Park People, Brendan’s talk discussed the rich aesthetic traditions and histories of planting trees in gardens, parks, and urban open spaces. Through images of beautiful and inspirational designed landscapes from around the world,...
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Certificate of Merit for Urban Design Plans
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We are pleased to announce that the Toronto Avenues and Mid-Rise Buildings Study has been awarded a 2012 National Urban Design Certificate of Merit. This study, conducted for the City of Toronto, was led by Brook McIlroy and included significant contributions from Quadrangle Architects, the Urban Marketing Collaborative, and ERA Architects. The document identifies policy-based...
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United Way AGM: Graeme Stewart’s Keynote Address
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On Thursday, June 21, ERA’s Graeme Stewart addressed United Way’s AGM as keynote speaker. In 2010, ERA and CUG+R published Tower Neighbourhood Renewal in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which looks at a broad range of historical trends, planning issues, sustainability concerns, social needs, and opportunity for renewal in and around Toronto’s tower block neighbourhoods. In...
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Micro-enterprise on Toronto’s streets
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In early June, Working Habitat and Scadding Court Community Centre (SCCC) hosted a charrette exploring opportunities for small-scale enterprise and pop-up vendors in Toronto. The charrette introduced important lessons and concepts from Scadding Court’s experiences with Market 707. Located just east of Bathurst on the south side of Dundas, Market 707 is a cluster of...
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Revitalizing Ontario Place: ERA’s Lara Herald on CBC
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Lara Herald, a project landscape architect at ERA, was recently invited to speak with Matt Galloway on CBC’s Metro Morning regarding the future of Toronto’s Ontario Place. A cluster of three artificial islands on Toronto’s waterfront, Ontario Place was launched in 1971 as an affordable and varied summer destination. Its attractions have over time included...
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Alan Dudeck joins us for a chat
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Recently ERA welcomed to our office special guest Alan Dudeck, an urban planner, project manager, realtor, and member of the Toronto Preservation Board. He came to speak to us about his experience of an exciting period in the early 1970s when urban planning became community planning. Working under contract with the City of Toronto planning...
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Jane’s Walk on Jarvis St.
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On Sunday May 6th, ERA principal Michael McClelland joined Toronto City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam and 75 interested participants on a Jane’s Walk in Toronto’s downtown east. Named for legendary urbanist and author Jane Jacobs, Jane’s Walks occur all over the world in the name of promoting urban literacy and community involvement in local urban environments....
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