Originally home to Knox College, and eventually occupied by one of the world’s first insulin manufacturers and a military hospital, the Gothic Revival building at 1 Spadina Crescent has a rich history and is a major city landmark, terminating views north from Spadina Avenue. ERA worked with NADAAA between 2011 and 2017 to oversee the building’s latest incarnation as part of the Daniels Faculty of Architecture Landscape and Design.

ERA’s role on 1 Spadina Crescent centred on developing restoration and conversion strategies for the original building, designed by Smith & Gemmell in 1875, and connecting it to the new concrete and glass panelled extension.

As well as being a space for design students and thinkers to thrive in, the new Daniels Faculty building itself embodies conversations between old and new, heritage and innovation.