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 a significant early-20th century work of the pioneering Canadian landscape architects Howard and Lorrie Dunnington-Grubb.

ERA has played a key role in articulating the character of Randwood, which has faced an uncertain future since leaving the Rand family’s care. Under the leadership of a community group advocating for the site’s future, the Save Our Randwood Estate Association (SORE), ERA has contributed foundational research and planning aimed at ensuring that historic elements are meaningfully conserved while allowing the site to support the future needs of the community.

At the heart of the contributions made by ERA and Brendan Stewart, our Senior Advisor on Landscape Practice, is a cultural landscape approach that transcends the estate’s individual elements and property parcels to create a layered and collective understanding of this place. Through the ongoing efforts of SORE and its team of experts, the lands of the estate have been protected by new designations which will place heritage at the centre of Randwood’s future evolution.