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North York’s Modernist Favorites, Volume Three.

by ERA Architects

...be highlighting a few of these under-appreciated, little-known buildings. These structures represent an undiscovered trove of modernist treasures in Toronto, which we drive, walk, or bike past everyday. The Betel Residence, 1953. Architect: Irving Grossman. Project description from the original 1997 version of North York’s Modernist Architecture. rear. entry pond. looking to the back-yard. looking back to the front entry....

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New Approaches to Heritage Documentation

by ERA Architects

University College is the founding college at the University of Toronto and the oldest building on the St. George campus. Built in the Romanesque-Revival style by Cumberland & Storm, when opened in 1859 it was among the most important buildings in the country. In 1968 this status was further confirmed with the building’s designation by the national historic sites and...

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Canada Hair Cloth

by ERA Architects

ERA is currently working with DSAI to convert the former Canada Hair Cloth factory in St. Catharines, ON, into Brock University’s new school for the performing arts. We’ve been down to site a few times to survey the conditions of the existing buildings – the oldest of which dates to 1888 – in order to cost and direct the restoration...

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Ontario Place in docomomoUS

by ERA Architects

...landscape. Ontario Place was completed in 1971 – a major public attraction, with elaborate harbourfront landscape design by Michael Hough, and space-age architecture by Eberhard Zeidler. The design of the site included the Cinesphere, a triodetic dome housing the world’s first permanent IMAX cinema; five interconnected “pods” – pavilions containing exhibition space, restaurants, and shops; and the landscape context: an...

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Union Station Train Shed Renewal

by ERA Architects

The interior of the Union Station Train Shed, shortly after opening. Completed in 1930, the Union Station Train Shed was designed by Toronto Terminals Railway Assistant Bridge Engineer A.R. Ketterson. The design was a variation on the Bush train shed, invented by American Engineer Lincoln Bush in 1904. Bush sheds replaced the expensive and difficult to maintain, large balloon-framed train...

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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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Military infrastructure designation, UK

by ERA Architects

...National Historic Site in 1994. Other important WW2 sites and structures, however, such as CFB Picton, a WW2 airplane base in Prince Edward County, merit further research and protection. The often temporary and emotionally imbued nature of WW2 structures increases their vulnerability to both oversight and demolition. A Canada-wide survey would be instrumental in capturing this important period of history....

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R.L. Hearn Generating Station

by admin

Peter Kuitenbrouwer had an article in yesterday’s Post highlighting an adaptive reuse proposal for part of the R.L. Hearn Generating Station. In their exhibition ‘Ecology.Design.Synergy’ at the MaRS Centre, Behnisch Architects showcase a schematic design proposal to insert three hockey rinks in the Hearn’s Turbine Hall – a plan which ERA was initially involved with exploring. Meanwhile, ERA Architects of...

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ERA x Sweden

by ERA Architects

This month a number of ERAers took a trip to Sweden, in order to kick off a neighbourhood rejuvenation project at Semlal Lagerlöfs Torg in Gothenberg. Following the extensive site tour and project brief, the team visited precedent projects in Stockholm, Malmo and Copenhagen to view the latest in housing design and neighbourhood renewal from our Nordic cousins. The following...

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Toronto the Good: A Jane’s Walk Launch Party

by ERA Architects

...I was thrilled to discover the Jane’s Walk festival. My first Jane’s Walk was Landscape Archaeology of Garrison Creek and it was absolutely fantastic to meander along the original path of the creek with a gaggle of interested friends and strangers while learning and seeing just how much everything has changed. Exploring the City through a Jane’s Walk is something...

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Canada Screen Award to NFB’s “Highrise”

by ERA Architects

...challenges of the neighbourhood, and to dream big about the neighbourhood’s future. These ideas were then interpreted and brought to life by animators, web designers, and the residents themselves. Congrats to Kat, the NFB, and Toronto’s tower neighbourhoods! To see clips of ERA’s involvement, see the Tower Renewal Blog. Please also explore the Highrise interactive site and the Highrise blog....

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GEMINI House: Construction has begun

by ERA Architects

...home, located on the UofT campus. The GEMINI NTED™ approach involves the implementation of two separate high-performance envelopes that thermally isolate the house into two zones: “core” and “periphery.”The core space comprises rooms expected to be in daily use (kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom), and will therefore be heated on a daily basis in cooler months. The periphery spaces...

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