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ERA Architects

Stories

One Spadina Crescent: When All is Finally Revealed…….

by ERA Architects

...Presbyterian Church bought the land and commissioned architects James Smith & John Gemmell to build Knox College. Having been adapted over the years to a number of different uses, the structure survives today as a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture, with a heritage designation (designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act on March 17, 1976). Beginning in...

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Toronto the Good 2010

by ERA Architects

...Micallef Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto NFB Filmmaker-in-residence Katerina Cizek The Thousandth Tower web documentary Wednesday May 26, 2010 _ 6pm to midnight free admission to the party _ catering by David Vallee _ cash bar York Quay Centre at Harbourfront Centre 235 Queens Quay West For more information please visit: http://www.era.on.ca http://www.readings.org Save the date – further details...

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ERA Principal Scott Weir Walks Designer Tommy Smythe Through a Few Current Conservation Projects

by ERA Architects

...to related blog post: https://www.eraarch.ca/2016/76-howard-streets-moving-day/ The third project is the adaptive reuse and incorporation of a Jarvis Street mansion into Casey House (project team: Luke Denison, Mikael Sydor, Sanford Riley, Jessie Grebenc, Michael McClelland, Edwin Rowse and Scott Weir) for Casey House Toronto, with Hariri Pontarini Architects Clifford Masonry Ltd is the heritage contractor. Thanks to the Marillyn Dennis show,...

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Concrete Toronto Music

by admin

Toronto indie and contemporary musicians get brutalist on iconic city buildings Sunday June 1 2-5pm Ontario Science Centre 770 Don Mills Rd *Free with admission to OSC Or purchase tickets: $20 regular/15$ member INCLUDING SCHOOL BUS RIDE from Music Gallery (meet at 12:45pm) Advance tickets available at: http://www.ticketweb.ca More info: http://www.musicgallery.org Presented by the Music Gallery as part of the...

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Proposed Heritage Policies in the ‘Toronto Official Plan’ Review

by admin

...The Official Plan heritage policies are available for review on the City website, at: www.toronto.ca/opreview/pdf/opreview_proposed_heritage_policy.pdf Linked below, we respectfully submit comments on the current proposed policies, and a draft counter-proposal – a goals-based policy document that can significantly improve the delivery of heritage services in the City of Toronto. www.era.on.ca/pdf/ERA_OP_heritage_policy_comments.pdf The key authors of this draft include Michael McClelland (Principal...

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The Star’s Big Ideas: GTA’s future in high-rise suburbs

by ERA Architects

...piece can be found at Here at thestar.com, or below: Image: Toronto Star The GTA can evolve into a network of diverse, interconnected and vibrant “town centres” dotting the suburban landscape from Oshawa to Hamilton. What if …… our suburbs are our future? What if the communities of Scarborough, North York and Etobicoke are the Toronto Region’s greatest urban asset,...

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TSA’s Urban Affairs Forum, “Generosity by Design”

by ERA Architects

...has led to community decline in both urban and rural settings. This balance can be expressed in both form and – perhaps more importantly – use of the buildings that create vibrant communities. This could lead to a consideration of both form and use as cultural heritage attributes, and a balance between the two as part of the inherent civic...

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A flag with ERA 30 on it

Celebrating ERA’s 30th anniversary

by ERA Architects

...today. Urban transformation through adaptive re-use One of the first widescale projects we took on as ERA was the Distillery District. As the Architect-of-Record for the overall Distillery District project and Heritage Architect for a series of the tenant spaces, we’ve seen how adaptive reuse of historic buildings can spark urban transformation. The potential for this type of renewal extends...

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Ideas & Issues

Three lessons from Europe’s independent cultural spaces

by Daniel Rotsztain, artist in residence

...existing structures for community use. As part of their tenancy of the new site, ADM has agreed to provide space, programming, and use of sports field for the surrounding neighbourhood, a symbiotic relationship where everyone benefits.   Luckily for Toronto, Mojan Jianfar and Ben MacIntosh, City of Toronto staff within the Cultural Partnerships division of Economic Development and Culture, were zoomed...

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Three rows of thumbnail image squares show the overall colour palette of neighbouring buildings on a streetscape

Dressing The Webster

by ERA Architects

...dominant colours in the neighbourhood. “Most HCDs are pretty conservative in their limitations and parameters. But, with reference to the existing precedents of colours in use in the neighbourhood, we could show that there is a diverse range of colours here.”  It was an interesting experiment, and a persuasive demonstration. Carl says he simply used an approach that’s common in...

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A historic laneway coach house

Uncovering the potential of Toronto’s laneways

by ERA Architects

Elements of a coach house: A) Simple / utilitarian, B) 1.5 storeys, C) Laneway, D) Inspired by, but in contrast with the components of the main house, E) Defensive, given the exposed setting to lane Toronto’s laneways are having a moment. For decades, these alleyways were an underused, often neglected, space in a city in need of room to expand...

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Royal Victoria Hospital, circa 1917, showing the entry procession and multiple buildings up the incline of Mount Royal.
Project Updates

A New Life for the Former Royal Victoria Hospital in Montréal

by ERA Architects

...and public policy. The proximity of the existing McGill University campus to the former hospital, the historical collaboration between the two institutions, and the original use make the university function well suited to the complex.  The portion to be taken over by McGill University includes six buildings of the former hospital complex. The three oldest buildings (pavilions A, E and...

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