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ERA Architects

Projects

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

...areas of rapid transit, residential development, urban park, and employment. In keeping with the goal of designing a building that provides a broad range of experiences and environments for students, the emphasis of the public space is on variety and connectivity. Spaces for student activity are designed to achieve a maximum variety of experience types, ranging from quiet study rooms...

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

...and stakeholder consultation, and review and preparation of heritage material. Victoria University Archives (Toronto), 1991.161/403. ERA developed a framework for the evaluation of historic resources, which can also help identify opportunities for growth and development. The assessment classified built resources not only according to their design/physical value and historical/associative value, but also according to the contribution they make to their...

Milton Heritage Properties Business Strategy

...recommendations for how to achieve long-term sustainability for the heritage buildings and landscape, benefit the community by providing new public parkland, as well as community and commercial programs of real local value, and support the entire program financially through strategic adaptive reuse options that involve a collaboration of public and private investment. As the Town of Milton adopts the proposed...

Exploratory typo-morphological study of Île-d’Orléans

Protected since 1935, Île-d’Orléans is one of the 13 declared heritage sites, the highest heritage status given by the Quebec government in recognition of its importance as a cultural landscape, its insular character and 400 years of agricultural activity, and as a place of great symbolic value and identity. Under the revised Cultural Heritage Act, the Ministry of Culture and...

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 Göteberg

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...

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...

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

Tower Renewal is a strategy for the revitalization of Canada’s aging postwar apartment neighbourhoods as part of achieving sustainable, equitable, and prosperous cities and regions. Supported by government policy and incentives, hundreds of thousands of units of apartment block housing were built in the postwar years throughout the country. Today, this housing accounts for the majority of purpose built rental...