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ERA Architects

Projects

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....

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.”...

The Carlu

The former Eaton’s College Street contains one of the finest Art Moderne interiors in Canada, the Carlu. It was commissioned by Sir John Craig Eaton to be the flagship for Eaton’s department store. Opened in 1931, the Carlu was an impressive and grand complex that was home to refined social and cultural events, hosting several international performers including Duke Ellington,...

Crangle’s Collision

Crangle’s Collision (the former International Harvesters’ Building) has been an Art Moderne accent at the corner of Bathurst and Wellington since its construction in 1940. This two-storey commercial building, designed by architect Neil A. Armstrong, served as headquarters for the American producer of agricultural equipment, and more recently as an auto body shop. A listed heritage property, ERA was retained...

Sainte-Marie among the Hurons

One of the earliest European settlements in the Province of Ontario, Sainte Marie among the Hurons is a site of national heritage significance and international interest. The challenge of assembling a conservation plan for three fireplace ruins at this important historic site offered an opportunity to approach conservation by first asking how to best interpret and present these artifacts to...

View of barn doors and public art of metal bars arching Artscape Wychwood Barns

...Joe Lobko Architect, and provided a suite of architectural services including preparing a Conservation Plan, working drawings for the alterations to the Barns, and the Heritage Easement Agreement. Additionally, ERA worked with Gottschalk+Ash International on wayfinding and site interpretation and with David Leinster and the Planning Partnership to convert the remaining land on the site into a new public park....

Stories

Publications & Exhibits

One Year of ‘The Signs That Define Toronto’ 

by Kurt Kraler

...of the The Signs That Define Toronto book. Published by ERA Architects in collaboration with Spacing, the book features the work of over 20 different contributors that delve into the history, culture, and stories of the city through its unique signage. At the event, lucious, high-resolution images from the book were splashed across TVs hanging behind the bar, offering revelers...

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News & Events

The Signs That Define Toronto: A new book from ERA and Spacing 

by Kurt Kraler

...adoption of the automobile as a primary means of travel. These studies were later published in Learning from Las Vegas (1972), which positioned the strip’s “lowbrow” populist buildings as a subject worthy of study amongst architects, just as the Pop Art movement had embraced crass commercialism. More importantly, the book identified the prominence of the sign within commercial architecture, relegating...

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Heroic: A New Book Coming Soon!

by ERA Architects

...and with more than 260 illustrations drawn from a dozen historical archives or produced especially for the book, Heroic offers one of the first comprehensive studies of the impact of concrete architecture in the United States. It includes essays by historians, interviews with architects from the time period, and examples of thirty buildings crucial to Boston’s reemergence. Book Rendering The...

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From Past to Page: Uncovering the Ward

by ERA Architects

...story-telling and educational opportunities this work has afforded.” —Holly Martelle, Project Archaeologist, Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants) ‘The Ward Uncovered—The Archaeology of Everyday Life’ is the fourth in a series of books published by Coach House Books that Michael McClelland has co-edited. Each book has dealt with a specific role of heritage and architecture within the City of Toronto. The first...

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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...

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Wall of books of many sizes and ages
Ideas & Issues

Diving Into the ERA Library—Part 1 

by ERA Architects

Having access to unique and highly specific books about neighbourhoods, cities, and architecture is a vital aspect of the culture of ERA. Periodically, we will pull books off the shelves of ERA’s library to reveal some of the charming and forgotten publications that shed light on local history.   Truth & Reconciliation: Calls to Action  In support of National Indigenous...

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