Heritage & Cultural Planning

The former Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH), founded in 1893, was designed by the London architect Henry Saxon Snell in the Scottish neo-baronial style. Located on the slope of Mount Royal, it was intended to be a place of healing close to nature and far from the industrial city, in accordance with the theories of the...

The site, once owned by the City of Toronto, operated as a public market from 1837 to around 1900. The Water Works Buildings were designed in the Art Deco style by City Architect, J. J. Woolnough and completed in 1933. The construction project was part of a plan supported by federal, provincial, and municipal governments...

The University College Revitalization project brings new life to the University of Toronto’s central architectural landmark, the Romanesque Revival University College, designed in 1852 by architects by Cumberland and Storm.  The updates to the National Historic Site respond to the demands of 21st century academia, renewing facilities to expand use and create a more inclusive...

Opened in 1984 in Agincourt, Scarborough, Dragon Centre was North America’s first indoor Chinese mall. Its developers – brothers Daniel and Henry Hung, originally from Hong Kong – adapted an old roller-skating rink into a mall serving the Greater Toronto Area’s growing Chinese-Canadian population. Combining Hong Kong’s dense commercial markets and the big box North...

The oldest among the University of Toronto’s federated universities, Victoria University and its campus are an expression of dynamic, complex and current programmatic needs. Following ERA’s assessment of University of Toronto-owned resources across its St. George Campus in downtown Toronto, ERA was retained by Victoria University to undertake a similar assessment to guide the stewardship,...

The University of Toronto’s King’s College Circle is an iconic ceremonial landscape, an important hub of student life, and a beloved public space. Part of the landscape plan produced by William Mundie and William Storm in conjunction with the designs for the landmark University College (1856-1859), King’s College Circle began as a picturesque landscape setting...

In 2015, a new Secondary Plan was developed for the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. As a sub-consultant on the planning team led by Urban Strategies, ERA undertook a Cultural Heritage Resource Assessment in order to identify and assess cultural heritage resources, including the buildings, views and open spaces, in accordance with the Ontario Heritage...

Homewood Health in Guelph was founded in the late 19th century as a private countryside retreat providing mental health and addiction services. The campus’ original pastoral character remains largely intact despite the addition of new buildings, and changes to programming and circulation patterns. Since 2010, ERA has worked with Homewood to renew its 47-acre campus...

Coronation Park is a six-hectare, culturally significant park at the foot of the historic Fort York area. The park is a living memorial, with the groves of silver maples commemorating the service and sacrifice of Canada’s military in World War I.  At over 70 years old, the original design intent of the park had begun...

Guild Park and Gardens is a regionally treasured destination park with a unique character. This 36-hectare park is layered with natural heritage systems and cultural heritage resources, set on the regionally significant landform of the Scarborough Bluffs and protected under provisions of the Ontario Heritage Act. Functioning as the heart of its local community, Guild...

The Cornell Campbell Farmstead is a local landmark and a remnant of a period of agricultural significance in Scarborough’s history. The property retains an intact farmstead with historical associations of the Late Woodland period (AD 1300-1500), and 19th to early 20th-century farming practices and settlement patterns. ERA Architects in joint venture with HOK were retained...

Ottawa’s Booth Street Complex — bordered by Booth, Norman, Rochester, and Orangeville streets in Little Italy — was acquired in 2012 by Canada Lands Company from the federal government. The conditions of the transfer required that best efforts be made to conserve the heritage character of the former federal heritage buildings, and that the spirit...