Institutional

As part of a long-term planning strategy to rejuvenate the city’s downtown, several heritage buildings are being adapted to house the facilities for a new downtown campus of the University of Windsor. This fine Art Moderne design, built in limestone and granite in 1940, is notable for its rounded corners, semi-circular ribbon windows, and circle...

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...

Carleton Village School was declared surplus by the Toronto District School Board and, with no protection through heritage listing or designation, slated for demolition in 1998. This local landmark, however, represented great symbolic value for community members of Carleton Village, the Junction neighbourhood it had served since 1913. In collaboration with Toronto Police Services (TPS)...

“Building 16” at the Brick Works housed several massive kilns built in the 1960s for firing and drying bricks. The kilns were fascinating artifacts, but their sheer size — 600 linear metres occupying three-quarters of the building — made the space impossible to use. From 2010–2013, ERA was involved in dissecting the kilns to reveal...

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...

The Crosstown, which will bring rapid transit along Eglinton and span the city from Scarborough to Etobicoke, represents the largest transit investment Toronto has made in a generation. ERA is part of a team that includes Brook McIlroy, planningAlliance, and Public Work, among others, in planning and designing the corridor as it prepares to be...

Coliseum Complex is a 410,000 sq ft group of five buildings constructed in 1922 to showcase the Canadian National Exhibition’s Winter Fair. An example of restrained Beaux Arts style design, these buildings feature vast, symmetrical, masonry façades; extensive classical brick detailing; unusual sculptural ornamentation in stone; and hundreds of large, finely framed windows. Having worked...

Since its inception in 1858, Allan Gardens has been a distinctive part of Toronto, dedicated to offering a stimulating environment for the pleasure of Torontonians. Originating as a horticultural feature at the centre of William Allan’s Park Lot V, Allan Gardens has watched the city grow and evolve around it. ERA is pleased to be...

This initiative by ERA Architects and the Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal (CUG+R), uses research, design, and planning to help support livable communities undergoing economic and cultural change after the decline of the Northern Cod Fishery. The Culture of Outports team uses historical research, field research, and public consultation to assess the built, natural,...

This project involved the heritage conservation of the Royal Canadian Military Institute on Toronto’s University Avenue. Built in 1907, expanded in 1912, 1935 and renovated in the 1960s, the RCMI has a long history of evolving to meet the needs of its members. A partnership between the Royal Canadian Military Institute and Tribute Communities will...

The Ashbridge Estate consists of two residential buildings and four outbuildings, including a two storey Regency and Arts and Crafts home, sheds and a barn, all set upon two acres of land. It was continuously owned and occupied by the Ashbridge familyfor 200 years, until 1972, when it was donated to the Ontario Heritage Trust....