Ya’el Santopinto

Ya’el is a registered Architect, Principal and practice lead at ERA who specializes in affordable housing retrofit and the adaptive reuse of existing buildings. Ya’el is ERA’s lead Tower Renewal Architect, overseeing a team of specialists to execute complex, holistic and resilient energy retrofits on post-war apartment towers across the region. She has been Project Architect on the retrofit of more than 1,000 social housing units, with specialized expertise in retrofit with residents in place, integrated design delivery, and phasing complex projects for maximum investment and carbon-reduction impact.

Ya’el is also the Director of Research and Partnerships with the Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal. Through the Tower Renewal Partnership initiative, she leads research on best-in-class practices in energy retrofit, green financing, and social and health outcomes of renewal, working with the federal government and other partners.

Ya’el holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Toronto and is a Fellow of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada.