Stories

ERA Celebrates Project Wins at the 2016 Heritage Toronto Awards Ceremony

by ERA Architects

Heritage Toronto held its annual awards ceremony on Monday, October 17th, 2016. The event was held at the Isabel Bader Theatre, Victoria College, University of Toronto and was hosted by the former host of CBC Radio’s Fresh Air, Mary Ito. This year’s Kilbourn Lecturer was Dr. Steven High, Professor of History at Concordia University. The...

Welcome to Blackhurst Street at Markham House

by ERA Architects

Celebrating the History and Entrepreneurial Excellence of the Black Community at Bathurst and Bloor Curated by Chinedu Ukabam October 15-November 27, 2016 Now extended until December 11th! Markham House: City Building Lab 610 Markham St, Toronto, ON Thursday/Friday | 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM Saturday/Sunday | 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM Once considered the “Grand...

The Broadview Hotel: Everything Old is New Again

by ERA Architects

Riverside welcomes a revitalized neighbor this fall in the form of The Broadview Hotel, a landmark building at the northwest corner of Queen and Broadview, completed in 1891-2, for oilman and soap maker Archibald Dingman. The building’s architecture hails from the same period as Toronto’s Old City Hall, with ornate exterior terracotta panels depicting animals...

‘Girls Can Too’ Provides Participants with Hands-On Learning Opportunities

by ERA Architects

ERA’s Janice Quieta and Shelley Ludman were able to spend a few summer days at the Bolton Camp with a group of ambitious young women, to help them consider career paths that might otherwise not be an obvious choice. The Girls Can Too program offers hands-on construction and ecology learning opportunities to young women, while...

Thorncliffe Park – Café and Market in the Park

by ERA Architects

Throughout September 2016, Thorncliffe Park will host a cultural café, music, art and storytelling circles in its R.V. Burgess Park. These events, taking place each Saturday of the month, are spearheaded by the Thorncliffe Park Action Group (TAG), a dynamic collective responsible for the cultural café, and their supporting partner organization, Diasporic Genius. For the...

The Picturesque Gothic Villa Comes to Town: The Emergence of Toronto’s Bay-and-Gable House Type

by ERA Architects

In a recent issue of ‘Architecture in Canada’ (Vol. 41, Issue #1), Principal Architect Scott Weir has composed an article that celebrates the typology of the bay-and-gable house. The issue is currently available in hard copy and will be posted on the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada’s (SSAC) website in the coming...

TORONTO – NEW YORK: Design by Example

by ERA Architects

“A new platform by which designers of these two great cities may share innovations and best practices with the common goal of enhancing the build environment.”- Mary Rusz This September, at the invitation of the AIA New York Housing and Planning and Urban Design Committees, ERA’s Michael McClelland, Graeme Stewart and Ya’el Santopinto participated in...

New Approaches to Heritage Documentation

by ERA Architects

University College is the founding college at the University of Toronto and the oldest building on the St. George campus. Built in the Romanesque-Revival style by Cumberland & Storm, when opened in 1859 it was among the most important buildings in the country. In 1968 this status was further confirmed with the building’s designation by...

Teaching-based Professionals, Business-based Researchers

by ERA Architects

The magazine Landscapes: Landscape Architecture in Canada/Paysages: L’architecture de Paysage au Canada examines and explores pertinent issues in the field of landscape architecture. In their latest issue (Vol. 18, No. 2), the article “Active Praxis, Hybrid Practice,” written by Shelley Long, takes a look into the new hybrid practices found in landscape architecture, in both...

Our Evolving Leadership Team

by ERA Architects

Congratulations to our new Associates! ERA Architects is proud to announce the designation of two staff members to the position of Associate. Julie Tyndorf and Jessie Grebenc have both demonstrated commitment to our core values of heritage conservation, city building engagement, and democratic community design. We thank them for their continued efforts and welcome them...

The Honest Ed’s Project: A Contemporary Intangible Heritage Project – Guest Blog by Jay Pitter

by ERA Architects

My interest in the redevelopment of Honest Ed’s and the surrounding neighbourhood is informed by my work in placemaking and stakeholder engagement — and also childhood memories. Prior to becoming a senior healthcare professional, my single mom worked at a series of low-income jobs. She moved in and out of our tiny apartment like a...

Growing Pains: An Evergreen Cityworks and The Globe and Mail Documentary on Urban Growth

by ERA Architects

‘As our population continues to grow, how will the region accommodate both present and future needs?’ This is the question that Growing Pains asks after summarizing how urban growth in the greater horseshoe evolved over the past half century and in light of the prospect of another two million residents arriving in the region over...

“Kensington Market as Cultural Landscape” — A Jane’s Walk

by ERA Architects

During the Heritage and Democracy workshop, ICOMOS Canada will be sponsoring a series of specially curated Jane’s Walks. As part of the National Conversation on Cultural Landscapes (NCCL), an initiative of ICOMOS Canada, one of the walks will explore “Kensington Market as Cultural Landscape.” On Friday, May 6th, the walk will take you on an exploration...

Heritage and Democracy Workshop: Registration Now Open!

by ERA Architects

Friday May 6 2016, 9am-5pm Heritage and Democracy: Bringing Heritage out of History and into the City $12 STUDENTS $15 MEMBERS $20 GENERAL All Jane’s Walks are free and open to the public Heritage and Democracy: Bringing Heritage out of History and into the City is a one-day workshop presented by ICOMOS Canada – the...

Flashback Friday: A Jane’s Walk Down Memory Lane

by ERA Architects

ERA loves the Jane’s Walk festival. Not only do the walks encourage citizens to share stories, explore communities, and connect with neighbours, they also provide platforms for discussing important urban, suburban, and rural issues that affect communities across the world. The Jane’s Walk festival is a global event that is celebrated in over 200 cities,...

Tower Renewal Partnership: revitalizing communities through research, advocacy, and action

by ERA Architects

The Tower Renewal Partnership is an initiative working to transform Southern Ontario’s remarkable stock of post-war apartment towers into more complete communities, resilient housing stock and healthy places, fully integrated into our growing cities. Nearly one million people in the Greater Toronto Area live in approximately 2,000 concrete residential tower blocks which were built between...

Toronto the Good: A Jane’s Walk Launch Party

by ERA Architects

For our annual Toronto the Good Party, we are supporting the 2016 Launch of Jane’s Walk! This year marks the 10th anniversary of Jane’s Walk, a movement of free, citizen-led walking tours inspired by the ideals of the late civic activist and prolific writer Jane Jacobs. These walks encourage citizens to share stories, explore their...

The Final Ridgeway Community Courts Workshop

by ERA Architects

On Wednesday, April 6th, the Erin Mills youth, the MLSE Foundation, the City of Mississauga, and ERA congregated for the last time to discuss final design details for the Ridgeway Community Court. Wings and pizza awaited the group as everyone gathered around for the final workshop. Delicious pizza and wings! The agenda for the evening...

“The Preservers”

by ERA Architects

In their Winter 2016 issue, On The Up magazine, which focuses on urbanism, travel, and culture, Scott Weir, a Principal at ERA, was featured alongside Sherry Phillips and Sarah van Maaren in their article titled “The Preservers.” The article, written by Sarah Steinberg, begins introducing its subject matter – a look into the work of...

Cities Alive Podcast – Zoning Out! Pt. 1

by ERA Architects

How do zoning laws contribute to – or prevent – the creation of complete communities? The Cities Alive podcast episode, Zoning Out! Part 1 addresses issues surrounding this question. Hosts Ross Soward and Danielle Davis invite guest speakers to talk about new trends in zoning that are allowing the formation of vibrant neighbourhoods. Today there...

University of Toronto’s New Secondary Plan

by ERA Architects

Aerial view of proposed character areas. Photo credit: University of Toronto The University of Toronto is engaged in creating a new Secondary Plan for its Downtown (St. George) campus. A Secondary Plan outlines expectations for an area’s future growth and provides a policy framework to inform its future physical development. The new plan will replace the...

Heroic Has Arrived

by ERA Architects

It’s here! The much-anticipated book Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston, which focuses on Boston’s emerging concrete buildings of the 1960s and 1970s, is now available for sale. ERA had previously posted a blog in preparation for it’s release, and now we’re excited it’s finally arrived. You can buy the book at Amazon and Chapters....

TSA’s Urban Affairs Forum, “Generosity by Design”

by ERA Architects

Can architecture be generous? Do architects have an inherent civic obligation? Those were the questions up for discussion at the Toronto Society of Architects (TSA) January 21st Urban Affairs Forum, titled “Generosity by Design.” Speakers included Robert Allsopp from DTAH, David Sisam from Montgomery Sisam Architects, Helena Grdadolnik from Workshop Architecture, and Philip Evans from...

A Delicious Thanks from the Church of the Redeemer!

by ERA Architects

On Sunday, November 22nd, the Church of the Redeemer held a dedication for the recent work done on the building. The congregation warmly thanked ERA for their commitment to the project, which involved work to both the exterior and interior of this notable landmark. The exterior project focused on rebuilding and stabilizing the Church’s iconic...

Re-imagining Prairie Grain Elevators (by guest blogger Ali Piwowar)

by ERA Architects

This past Friday, I was invited to present my master of architecture thesis to ERA Architects. My thesis, titled “Living Heritage: Re-imagining Wooden Crib Grain Elevators in Saskatchewan,” explores the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the iconic wooden grain elevators across the Canadian Prairie. The number of elevators in Saskatchewan peaked in 1938 with...