Recreation

An architectural significant example of 19th-century farmhouses in Montreal, the Bleau residence was erected on the footprint of an older house. It was home to several generations of the Bleau family, who shaped the house and its surroundings to meet their needs over the years. In addition to farming, the family also operated a ferry...

The agricultural estate Bois-de-la-Roche is a site of exceptional heritage value, with parts of its landscape and architectural elements  recognized by municipal, provincial, and federal authorities. When senator and businessman Louis-Jospeh Forget established his estate between 1886 and 1908, the site already had several structures built on it. He added new buildings, some conceptualized by...

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...

Grange Park, a two-hectare public open space south of the Art Gallery of Ontario, is a rare surviving example of an early 19th century former residential estate. Although the grounds have evolved considerably, the terraced, axial and irregular elliptical layout in the Picturesque-Gardenesque style retains a high level of integrity. Today the park serves as...

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...

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...

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...

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...