Landscape & Urban Design

plazaPOPS is a non-profit organization that facilitates the transformation of parking lots and other under-invested spaces through temporary “pop-up” installations. Designed as free, safe, and accessible gathering places, these pop-up experiences build on and complement the vibrant cultures, communities, and businesses in the surrounding neighbourhood. Largely working along suburban main streets, plazaPOPS partners with local...

The Rand Estate in Niagara-on-the-Lake, known as “Randwood”, is a treasure among Canada’s historic estates. Some 50 acres large at its height, it was the summer home of the Rand family over multiple generations between 1910 and 2016. The estate holds a vital place in the community’s history and identity, and its magnificent landscape is...

This significant and historic property is situated on the former grounds of Alma College, an important Victorian-era private girls’ school in St Thomas, Ontario. The College, although cherished by the community and its many alumnae, was closed in the 1980s and the property, along with its fine Gothic Revival building and rustic ravine amphitheatre, was...

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...

Gordonridge is ERA’s third project with MLSE Foundation developing place-based recreational spaces with community stakeholders, providing youth and adults a safe space to play and access a variety of sports within their neighbourhoods. In August of 2018, ERA began working, as lead architect, with key project partners MLSE Foundation, Jumpstart, and Toronto Community Housing on...

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...

Toronto Community Housing’s Lawrence Orton campus is a 336-unit complex completed in 1969, which houses more than 1,000 residents. It was selected by TCHC for their landmark ‘ReSet’ program which directs comprehensive capital repair and social reinvestment at a campus scale to revitalize the most challenged sites in their portfolio. Since 2014, ERA Architects, in...

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...

Regent Park is the largest social housing neighbourhood built in Canada’s history, with a layered history of development through several eras. Since 2005, it has been undergoing extensive revitalization, moving towards a more mixed-use and mixed-income neighbourhood. To celebrate the neighbourhoods history, Toronto Community Housing Corporation commissioned ERA to design a commemoration strategy. The strategy’s...