Stories
Brickworks in the news again
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Today’s Globe and Mail features an article by Angela Kryhul about the ongoing development at the Evergreen Brick Works; Brick Works fired up for the future, including an informative time-line of the historic evolution of the site. From the article: William Taylor was digging holes for fence posts one day when he came across a...
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Glass & Glazing in the 21st Century
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Andrew recently attended the Glass & Glazing in the 21st Century: Design and preservation of Contemporary and Historic Architecture conference at MIT, and gave us an overview of the highlights at this week’s Friday social hour. The conference presenters were a diverse group including architects, engineers, designers, manufacturers and fabricators working on projects that explore...
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Oleleshwa Primary School construction update
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Alec has arrived in Kenya, where he is taking a few weeks away from ERA in order to oversee the construction of his design for the Oleleshua Primary School in Ewaso Ngiro. It looks as though work is sprinting ahead, with the entire community pitching in. For more updates, be sure and visit the project...
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Undoing the Gardens
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Since the story has leaked, we feel safe enough revealing some photographs of the interior demolition at Maple Leaf Gardens. These photographs were taken approximately three weeks ago, and work is on-going.. Though the destruction looks ‘apocalyptic’, it is all being performed in an extremely careful and controlled manner, and in the service of future...
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Parkwood in the news
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Dave LeBlanc has an excellent article in the Globe and Mail today about one of our favorite projects, the Parkwood National Historic Site. Parkwood National Historic Site was built in 1916 as the home of the late R. S. McLaughlin, founder of General Motors Canada. The building, designed by prominent Toronto architects Darling and Pearson,...
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Dispatchwork
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Though perhaps not exactly in-line with the Ministry of Culture’s Ontario Heritage Tool Kit procedures or the guidelines set forth in the Burra Charter, these temporary masonry repairs in Bocchignano, Italy are a series of wonderfully playful gestures. photographs via Jan Vormann ps: How do you write a spec for Lego?
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Celebration of Heritage
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On Wednesday February 24th, at the “Celebration of Heritage” event held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ERA was awarded the “Peter J. Stokes Heritage Commendation” for the exterior conservation of the 1817 Miller House. Congratulations are extended to the building’s owner Vintage Inns and the project’s contractor Shoalts Brothers Construction, who were also recipients.
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After you left, they took it apart
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Buffalo photographer Chris Mottalini has produced an astoundingly beautiful and poignant set of images from now-demolished Paul Rudolph homes in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Florida. The images speak for themselves: In Chris’ own words: My intent was to pay homage to Paul Rudolph and his work, as well as the more abstract and elusive qualities...
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View Points: You’re invited to look inside the City!
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Harbourfront Centre regularly hosts a forum series called View Points that “explores issues in contemporary culture and showcases current culture-makers”. To coincide with the current Community Centred exhibition at the Architecture Gallery, a forum titled “Inside the City” is set for next Thursday February 25th at 7:00 pm at Harbourfront. Ian Chodikoff will be moderating...
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Grant Whatmough 1921-1999
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ERA is currently studying the above house by Grant Whatmough, designed for Canadian Homes and Gardens managing editor Gerald Maccabe in 1956. The Maccabe house is an example of the many early modernist ‘gems’ which are only now being rediscovered in the suburbs around the Greater Toronto Area. Born in Toronto, Whatmough served in the...
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Evergreen Brick Works
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Construction and conservation work are ongoing down at the Evergreen Brick Works, and the project has recently been attracting a good deal of attention. The Toronto Star reports today that National Geographic Traveler named Evergreen Brick Works a Top 10 destination for sustainable travel, and ERA was present for the recent royal site visit from...
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People per Hectare _ Installation Documentation
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We often talk about density in terms of numerical ratios, or other quantitative abstractions. Our intention here is to try and map the spatial experience of specific densities to their numerical signifiers, and then relate these examples directly to similar conditions in Toronto. Continue reading the full post below for expanded versions of the neighbourhood...
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People per Hectare _ Opening Night
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and photographs from the next morning, with a few less people:
Read MorePeople per Hectare _ Toronto by Numbers
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Density is one of the key tools currently used for planning cities. Architects, planners, and policy makers all use density as a calibration of the city. We want to make our cities better, more vital, more full of possibilities. As our cities change, we want to propose change intelligently. To change intelligently, we need to...
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People per Hectare _ The Set Up
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Many hands working many long hours to get everything ready for the upcoming density installation at the Harbourfront Centre… hope you can join us for the opening on Friday – details above!
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Architecture at the Harbourfront Centre
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ERA is currently preparing a new installation for the Harbourfront Centre, focusing on the ways in which density affects our lives. This is part of the COMMUNITY CENTRED exhibit with Public Workshop and du Toit Architects Limited. The opening reception: Friday January 22, 2010 6:00 to 10:00pm York Quay Centre 235 Queens Quay West For...
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People per Hectare _ Save the Date
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ERA is currently preparing a new installation for the Harbourfront Centre, focusing on the ways in which density affects our lives. The grand opening is from 6 to 10pm on Friday, January 22nd. Further details to follow…
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Union Station Train Shed Renewal
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The interior of the Union Station Train Shed, shortly after opening. Completed in 1930, the Union Station Train Shed was designed by Toronto Terminals Railway Assistant Bridge Engineer A.R. Ketterson. The design was a variation on the Bush train shed, invented by American Engineer Lincoln Bush in 1904. Bush sheds replaced the expensive and difficult...
Read MoreHead Start
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After a prolonged workterm at ERA, Jordan Molnar is headed back to Dalhousie to begin his M.Arch thesis. Before shipping off, he gave a Friday presentation and recruited feedback on his initial research – involving preliminary studies of an under-utilized commercial block in downtown Brampton. This sparked an interesting discussion, centering primarily on the questioned...
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The Holiday Spirit
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ERA celebrated the season with an insiders tour of the Distillery District (an active project in the office since 1995), and an obligatory stop at the Mill St Brewery, followed by a wonderful dinner party at the (perfectly historic) Campbell House. Thanks go to curator Liz Driver and planner David Vallee, our gracious hosts; it...
Read MoreJerome Markson: Houses and Housing 1955-1980
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Legendary architect Jerome Markson came in and gave a presentation on the residential projects produced over the first third of his career – from 1955 up until 1980. He showcased a number of experimental single family housing designs, and his transition to multi-family and social housing projects. Alexandra Park featured heavily, and we were all...
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Oleleshwa Primary School, Ewaso Ngiro, Kenya
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This week’s Wednesday Design Forum looked at a project being developed outside of the office. Alec Ring, an assistant architect here at ERA, and his colleague Karl Sarkis presented a design they have been developing for Oleleshua Primary School in Ewaso Ngiro, Kenya. The funding to build the school is through Harambee 4 Humanity a...
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Huge congratulations go out to Brendan and Andrea on the birth of their new baby daughter: Quinn!
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Vancouver Matters Wins Design Exchange Award
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Vancouver Matters received an award in the Visual Communications category at this week’s Design Exchange Awards event. The book was also recently awarded at the Alcuin Society’s 27th Annual Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada. Photo by Jason Vanderhill
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