Landscape Architecture & Urban Design

ERA Architects, in joint venture with SvN Architects and Planners, has completed the deep energy retrofit of 4301 Kingston, a 419-unit complex completed in 1968 in east Scarborough which houses more than 1,000 residents, and owned by Toronto Community Housing. The project improved tenant health, comfort, and safety, while reducing utility consumption and GHG emissions...

Built between 1906–1912, Silver Birches is a well-loved landmark on the remote north shore of Mackinac Island in Michigan. The Lodge is a rare example of an Adirondack-style Arts & Crafts log hotel and is included on the State Register of Historic Sites. After withstanding a century of extreme Lake Huron weather, Silver Birches and...

Catalyzed by a talented group of local youth, the Ridgeway Community Courts transformed an under-utilized parking lot and sidewalk boulevard into a vibrant multi-sport court and community space for drop-in recreational programming. ERA led the collaborative design process, which worked closely with the community to bring this much-needed resource to the Ridgeway neighbourhood of northwest...

Flag Field is a public work by artist Josh Thorpe, located at Maple Claire Park in Toronto. Flag Field consists of fourteen custom flags on flagpoles ranging from 25 to 50 feet high. Thorpe designed the flags as simple drawings of cats and dogs, stripes and polka dots etc. — images associated loosely with the...

For much of Toronto’s history, the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus has existed as a distinct area at the centre of the city. This institutional urban landscape encompasses the University, its federated universities and colleges, and Ontario’s seat of government, among other institutions. Its early establishment and patterns of land ownership have shaped the...

The designated Thomas G. Elgie House, is the oldest of three residential buildings in Leaside that predate its incorporation as a town in 1913. Although altered in the 20th century, the original building remains, however the south elevation’s red brick walls and 19th century detailing were concealed by an addition. As part of a conservation...

ERA, alongside Brook McIlroy, planningAlliance, City of Toronto, and others, received the 2015 Canadian Institute of Planners Award for Planning Excellence for the comprehensive project report, EGLINTONconnects. The project report also won the Award of Merit for the Visions and Master Plans Category in the 2015 Toronto Urban Design Awards. EGLINTONconnects, also known as The...

Trinity Bellwoods Park was formerly part of a large swath of military reserve around the nascent Town of York, founded in 1791. In 1851, Bishop John Strachan purchased the land as the site for the original Trinity College. This building was completed in 1852, and all that remains of it are the gates we see...

ERA was engaged to develop a new access ramp for Casey House: 9 Huntley St., to replace a previous ramp that was deteriorating, difficult to use, and which did not satisfy new Ontario Building Code regulations. Our challenge was to provide a design as light and unobtrusive as possible, while still accommodating the gentle slope...

The Toronto Island Ferry Terminal was recently renamed in honour of the late Jack Layton. As part of needed modernization to the facilities, the City of Toronto also built a new ticket pavilion. It needed a sign. ERA was invited to propose signage options that would lend a friendly tone to the park, and one...

Today, lake-fill has shifted the waterfront southward, and Garrison Creek has been buried, but in the late 1700s, at the time of European settlement, this lakeshore site featured a promontory ideal for marine defense. It became the location of the first fortification at Fort York, allowing for the founding of Toronto in the protected harbour...

ERA and Arup collaborated to join a number of European firms in a parallel commission to reimagine the Swedish suburb of Selma Göteberg. Surprisingly, the neighbourhood bore a number of interesting similarities to Toronto suburbs, including post-war modernist planning strategies (Toronto’s inspired in part by Swedish thinkers, in fact), aging 1960s infrastructure, a diverse resident...