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The Final Ridgeway Community Courts Workshop

by ERA Architects

...an official logo from the three they had developed. Erin Mills youth intensely debating net options. Net options. Logo options. Gathering around to vote for the new logo. The votes are in! Everyone in the room was ecstatic to hear that the Ridgeway Community Court, which reclaims under-utilized parking space, will be an official City of Mississauga park. The park...

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62 – 64 Charles Street: The Lost Craft of Tuck-pointing Returns

by ERA Architects

...honoured last fall with a 2017 CAHP Award of Excellence —Materials, Craftsmanship and Construction. ERA is continuing to feature this technique prominently through work on the Selby Hotel at 592 Sherbourne, which is set to be completed in the summer. For more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxPc6_2R-Hc Article by Dave LeBlanc in the Globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/toronto/the-lost-art-of-tuckpointing-reborn-intoronto/article37802073/ Related content: https://www.eraarch.ca/2017/capitalizing-on-heritage-awarding-conservation-materials-craftsmanship-and-construction/ https://www.eraarch.ca/2017/era-learns-the-fine-art-of-tuckpointing-from-a-melbourne-based-master/ https://www.eraarch.ca/2012/tuckpointing-a-note-on-detail/  ...

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Ideas & Issues

Storefronts and urban evolution: Q&A with Shannon Clayton 

by Alessandro Tersigni

...have entirely superseded and absorbed storefronts as an entity separate and distinct from the rest of a building.  The problem is that the base of the façade has become the most generic part of new buildings, but it has the greatest impact on the urban experience. There used to be this hierarchy of building design in which the most detailed...

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News & Events

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

by Kurt Kraler

...the building to its basic functions of providing air-conditioned space and shelter from the elements.  Interestingly enough, Toronto shares some similarities with Las Vegas in its growth and signage evolution. The opening of the Hoover Dam in 1936 supplied Las Vegas with an abundant supply of cheap electricity, similar to how the Niagara hydroelectric dam had transformed the streets of...

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Thorncliffe Park – Café and Market in the Park

by ERA Architects

...on the uses imagined by TAG, ERA built a robust frame (see diagram), designed to be reconfigured to become a food stall, a library or an outdoor living room, and equipped with integral seating. “The mobile café becomes a living project – designed to be as playful, evolving and experimental as the dynamic group who uses it.” The mobile cafe...

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RAC Zoning Approved for 500 Sites

by ERA Architects

...social activity, and community services – amenities that most areas of Toronto take for granted. Surprisingly, these uses within Apartment districts have until now been largely prohibited. This is because the zoning of Apartment areas was conceived in the 1950s when Toronto’s suburbs were thought to function very differently. These areas were planned with a strict separation of uses: Residential,...

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The Legacy Lives On: Hamilton’s Built Heritage Inventory as an emerging practice in historic urban landscape stewardship

by ERA Architects

...they inhabit could, in the future, be used by cities to identify a much broader range of conservation opportunities, better understand an area’s capacity to change and evolve, and reposition historic resources to serve as the springboard and foundation for new development….’ Article in CIP’s PLAN Canada Journal: http://www.kelmanonline.com/httpdocs/files/CIP/plancanadawinter2017/index.html Related content: https://www.eraarch.ca/2017/hamiltons-durand-built-heritage-inventory-project-incorporates-digital-innovation-to-develop-a-citywide-approach-to-heritage-planning/ https://www.eraarch.ca/project/hamilton-downtown-built-heritage-inventory/ https://www.eraarch.ca/2013/9295/ All images courtesy of ERA Architects....

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Casey House is Awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation

by ERA Architects

...the facility first arose. At its heart, the redevelopment of Casey House was a community-inspired and driven initiative, with stakeholders recognizing the importance of their generous contributions. Congratulations to ERA’s project team: Michael McClelland, Edwin Rowse, Scott Weir, Jessie Grebenc, Joey Giaimo, Luke Denison, and Mikael Sydor. Related links: https://www.eraarch.ca/project/239/ https://www.eraarch.ca/2017/a-hospital-with-heart-that-embraces-its-patients-celebrates-its-grand-reopening/ https://www.eraarch.ca/2017/capitalizing-on-heritage-awarding-conservation-materials-craftsmanship-and-construction/ http://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/en/index.php/media-releases/lieutenant-governors-ontario-heritage-awards-presentation ​Project photos are courtesy of Vik Pahwa....

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Amendments to Heritage Policies in Toronto’s Official Plan

by admin

...Plan heritage policies on the City website: www.toronto.ca/opreview/pdf/opreview_proposed_heritage_policy.pdf 2) ERA’s initial comments and draft counter proposal: www.era.on.ca/pdf/ERA_OP_heritage_policy_comments.pdf 3) Draft Amendment No. 199 to Official Plan, just released and available on the City website: http://www.toronto.ca/opreview/pdf/version_opa_atclerks.pdf 4) ERA’s comments on Amendment, submitted respectfully on October 1, 2012: www.era.on.ca/pdf/ERA_OP_heritage_policy_comments2.pdf The key authors of this draft include Michael McClelland (Principal and Co-Founder at ERA),...

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an image of leather shoes recovered from the Armoury Street excavation is superimposed on top of a Goad's Insurance Map, detailing the site area and context of Centre Avenue and Armoury Street in historic St John's Ward.

Archaeology in The Ward: A New Exhibit

by ERA Architects

...rotunda, located adjacent to both the east and west elevator bays, and will be on display through spring of 2018. Infrastructure Ontario is creating an online archive of past exhibit displays available at infrastructureontario.ca/armourystreetdig Link to the Toronto Star’s coverage: https://www.thestar.com/news/immigration/2018/01/11/new-exhibit-sheds-light-on-torontos-early-immigrant-entrepreneurship.html Related content: https://www.eraarch.ca/2015/the-ward-a-new-book-coming-2015/ https://www.eraarch.ca/2015/the-ward-a-new-book-update/ https://www.eraarch.ca/2017/coming-up-the-ward-songs-and-sounds-of-a-lost-toronto-neighbourhood/ Post by guest writer Carl Shura. All photos courtesy of ERA Architects and TMHC....

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Ken Soble Tower, a white-clad 18-storey tower viewed from a vantage at ground level and looking high up into the sky.
News & Events

Canada’s Ken Soble Tower certified as world’s largest residential Passive House EnerPHit retrofit

by ERA Architects

...program was demonstrated by final operational whole building airtightness tests that bettered targets by more than 50 per cent at 0.235 air changes per hour (ACH) at 50 pascals pressure (Pa). “Congratulations to CityHousing Hamilton on their innovative vision for the Ken Soble Tower project. Achieving EnerPHit certification reflects the expert rigor, best practices and collaborative efforts between our client,...

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The community that could: The Storefront shares its story

by ERA Architects

...that Could” reviews the Storefront story, and reports on a range of key learnings, basic principles and assumptions, and practical strategies for several important success factors, including: Resident-tenant working relationships Youth engagement Community design process New site amenities, and Next steps It’s a wonderful success story and an excellent resource for all of us working on the ground towards Tower...

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