Skip to content

ERA Architects

Stories

Military infrastructure designation, UK

by ERA Architects

...was designated by English Heritage. “Cavitation” is the formation and collapse of bubbles, a process which marine designers attempted to minimize in order to reduce propeller erosion and underwater noise (particularly important for submarines in wartime). A cavitation tunnel is similar in function to a wind tunnel, but filled with water for hydrodynamic testing. No. 2 Cavitation Tunnel was built...

Read More

Culture of Outports: Burlington Freelab

by ERA Architects

...outport of Burlington, on the Baie Verte peninsula. The team, on site. The project proposes that an understanding of the unique history and character of these communities is essential in order to successfully plan and manage their future evolution, post fisheries. There are plenty of examples throughout the province to suggest that communities are in search of inventive ways to...

Read More
The top of 8 King Street East pre-construction.

Dave LeBlanc for The Globe and Mail: The tower that once topped Toronto shines again

by ERA Architects

...railing on the 20th-storey observation deck of the new Royal Bank building. While it’s difficult to read expressions, likely all faces sport some combination of pride, accomplishment, or gravitas. After all, this building had just been crowned tallest in the Commonwealth and, as such, became another indicator of the shift from Montreal to Toronto as Canada’s financial centre. And if...

Read More

Botwood build: complete

by ERA Architects

...settlement for Europeans. The site has served as a major port of trade (both air and ocean), and was an important base for the RCAF during WWII. A big thank-you goes to TD Canada Trust, our Ryerson students, and the community of Botwood for their incredible warmth, skill, enthusiasm, and hard work. For more images and updates, please see CultureOfOutports.com....

Read More

Tower Renewal Solutions on CBC Radio

by ERA Architects

As aging apartment buildings begin to contribute to the housing crisis, (exposed this week in the infrastructure failure at 260 Wellesley, Toronto) the clear response is system-scale reinvestment — and it’s underway right now across Canada. Of particular note, the Ken Soble Tower Project is one of the most significant and precedent-setting tower retrofit projects in North America, and it’s...

Read More

The Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal (CUG+R)

by ERA Architects

...initiatives that foster City Regions and local communities that are: well planned and designed, economically vibrant, socially diverse, culturally integrated and environmentally sustainable. CUG+R officially launched in December 2010 with the release of Tower Neighbourhood Renewal in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, a report jointly prepared by CUG+R’s founding partners, ERA Architects and planningAlliance, and the launch of cugr.ca. www.cugr.ca will...

Read More

Montreal Trend House to be lost?

by ERA Architects

...amenities and appliances. The interior of the homes were furnished by Eatons, employing primarily furniture and textiles from Canadian designs, selected by the National Industrial Design Council of Canada. Of the 11 homes built across Canada, this is the only example in Quebec. On the Trend House Chronicles site, Michael Kurtz writes: As in the Case Study program, the design...

Read More
Ideas & Issues

Storefronts and urban evolution: Q&A with Shannon ClaytonΒ 

by Alessandro Tersigni

This week ERA is exploring the history and design of storefront architecture. To understand the origins, evolution, and future of this iconic feature of commercial buildings, ERA writer-researcher Alessandro Tersigni sat down with Shannon Clayton, the firm’s resident storefront expert. Shannon has worked on many conservation projects involving the design of new storefronts for commercial heritage buildings in Toronto, including...

Read More

The community that could: The Storefront shares its story

by ERA Architects

...great community hub with a community garden and kitchen, a multiuse sports court, and a number of fantastic landscape features, including the “Sky-o-swale” green-roof pavilion. Having played a major role in numerous projects on site, ERA has enjoyed the chance to help build community by experimenting with public realm improvements in a non-development-driven scenario. This new document, “The Tower Community...

Read More

The new Standard

by ERA Architects

...communities with different landowners, asking whether we can take down some fences, rezone for mixed use, introduce some modest demonstration projects regarding community development and building upgrade. Then we can make these new ideas viral, the new status quo. Over the long term, this can provide real opportunities for a more sustainable and livable city-region. These buildings aren´t going anywhere,...

Read More

Toronto the Good 2010 _ Intinerary

by ERA Architects

...9:00pm Cartoon City Curatorial Talk with Pat Macaulay Free 8:30 – 9:00pm Authors at Harbourfront Series, book signing Free 9:00 – 9:15pm Welcoming Comments ERA, Spacing Magazine, Doors Open TSA poster design competition winner announcement Free 9:00 to 9:45pm Dessert Service Free 9:15 to 9:45pm Tour of 2nd Floor York Quay Centre by Tim Scott – Natale and Scott Architects...

Read More

The Ward: A new book, UPDATE

by ERA Architects

ERA is excited to announce our new book all about Toronto’s St. John’s Ward. The Ward: The Life and Loss of Toronto’s First Immigrant Neighbourhood, launches May 20th. See our previous post here. A number of events lead up to this exhilarating new release. The Ward will be presented in the Pages UnBound Festival, an annual mixed media festival combining...

Read More