Stories

Regent Park’s Commemoration Strategy

by ERA Architects

How do you commemorate the heritage of a complex, evolving neighbourhood that is still in the throes of change? How do you interpret the vibrancy of a neighbourhood while considering the significance of its buildings, most of which no longer exist? ERA Architects is addressing these questions through the establishment of a Commemoration Strategy for...

The Future Ridgeway Community Court

by ERA Architects

Following the success of the ESS sport court, ERA has been retained to oversee the design and construction of a new sports court and outdoor community space in the Ridgeway neighbourhood of northwest Mississauga. A talented group of local youth at the Erin Mills Youth Centre successfully applied for and were granted funding through the...

Heritage Toronto Awards Announced

by ERA Architects

After much awaited anticipation, Heritage Toronto held its awards ceremony on Tuesday, October 13th, 2015. The event was held at the Koerner Hall in Toronto and was hosted by the host of CBC Radio’s Fresh Air, Mary Ito. This year’s Kilbourn Lecturer was Rahul K. Bhardwaj, President and CEO of the Toronto Foundation. The awards...

6th Canadian German Conference on Energy Efficient Retrofits in Buildings

by ERA Architects

In an effort to bring emerging green technologies and practices into Ontario, the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce Inc. held its 6th Canadian German Conference on Energy Efficient Retrofits in Buildings. In attendance were representatives of seven companies from Germany, alongside around 90 conference delegates, including representatives from industry, associations, and academic institutions,...

University of Toronto’s Landscape of Landmark Quality Design Competition

by ERA Architects

The University of Toronto put forward an eight-week intensive Landscape of Landmark Quality Innovative Design Competition to revitalize the historic landscapes of St. George campus. These major public spaces include King’s College Circle, Hart House Circle, the Sir Daniel Wilson Quadrangle, Back Campus, and Tower Road. Following a qualification stage, four teams were selected to...

Harvest Festival in Thorncliffe Park

by ERA Architects

On Saturday, September 26th, the Third Not-So-Annual Harvest Festival took place in Thorncliffe Park. Hosted by not-for-profit Diasporic Genius (DG), the festival featured a pop-up Women’s Cultural Café, an initiative of the Thorncliffe Action Group (TAG). Diasporic Genius, TAG, and ERA Architects collaborated to design, build, and run this dynamic pop-up café. Thorncliffe Action Group (TAG)...

Visit the Markham House!

by ERA Architects

This Saturday, September 19, 2015, Mirvish Village will be hosting the grand opening of the Markham House, located at 610 Markham Street. Doors will open from 11:00am to 6:00pm, providing guests the opportunity to revel in an abundance of festivities. There will be food and drinks presented by tasty cafes and restaurants from the Annex...

Celebrating the Upcoming Heritage Toronto Awards

by ERA Architects

Heritage Toronto recently released the list of award nominees for the William Greer Architectural Conservation and Craftsmanship category. ERA is proud to be part of six out of sixteen nominated teams. These six projects are diverse in their time period, conservational approach, and cultural impact. They range from the rehabilitation of the Hermant Building’s bronze...

Master Shipbuilders: Book Launch and Signing!

by ERA Architects

Calvin D. Evans’ Master Shipbuilders of Newfoundland and Labrador: Volume Two, Notre Dame Bay to Petty Harbour magnificently captures the rich maritime history spanning the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. This documentation of Canada’s coastal craftsmanship accompanies its well-received predecessor, Master Shipbuilders of Newfoundland and Labrador: Volume One, Cape Spear to Boyd’s Cove. Both volumes offer a...

Overcoming Challenges in Heritage Conservation at 100 Spadina Rd.

by ERA Architects

100 Spadina Rd. Photo by Andrew Louis. What happens when a building’s heritage conservation is complicated by new building codes that were non-existent at the time of its construction? This was the case for Park Property Management’s renovation of 100 Spadina Rd., one of Uno Prii’s designs erected in 1969. As highlighted in Dave Leblanc’s...

Workshopping Ideas for the Upcoming Bell Island Build

by ERA Architects

Culture of Outports (CoO) uses research, design, and planning to help support liveable communities undergoing economic and cultural change after the closure of Newfoundland’s Cod Fishery. These communities are often struggling with ways to move forward following the decline in traditional livelihoods. For the past four years, ERA has collaborated with students and community members...

Toronto House Transformation

by ERA Architects

Throughout most of the dynamic city of Toronto, structures originally built as houses have been transformed for innovative use. These transformed houses often create spaces for businesses, organizations, and various other establishments; such alterations often generate some of the busiest streetscapes in Toronto. These streetscapes are where new ideas, communities, and initiatives have taken root. Adaptive reuse...

EU Research for Tower Renewal

by ERA Architects

As part of ongoing research related to the Tower Renewal project, ERA’s Graeme Stewart and Michael McClelland, with project partners Evergreen Cityworks and planningAlliance, recently toured the Netherlands and Germany. Touring built projects, construction sites, and meeting with planners, engineers, architects, city administrators, and even a Dutch Senator, the team witnessed Europe’s cutting edge in...

Metropolis: Tower Renewal Key to Toronto’s Liveability

by ERA Architects

This month’s issue of Metropolis Magazine ranks Toronto #1 globally for liveability; it is in good company with Tokyo and Helsinki, numbers two and three respectively. The feature article, written by Toronto Star columnist Christer Hume, outlines Toronto’s many virtues and points to Tower Renewal as a way forward for both enhancing liveability and addressing the...

Conference Proceedings (Videos) from TCLF: Second Wave of Modernism III

by ERA Architects

Early this spring, the highly anticipated Second Wave of Modernism III: Leading with Landscape, a conference series led by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), was held at Isabel Bader Theatre on Friday May 22nd. It was attended by 430 conference delegates from Canada and around the world, including a significant contingent of City of Toronto staff...

ERA Presents at TCLF Second Wave of Modernism III: Leading with Landscape

by ERA Architects

The highly anticipated Second Wave of Modernism III: Leading with Landscape, a conference series led by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), was held at Isabel Bader Theatre on Friday May 22nd. It was attended by 430 conference delegates from Canada and around the world, including a significant contingent of City of Toronto staff from various departments....

Section 37 and the Public Realm: A Joint MITACS Project ( by guest blogger Jeff Biggar)

by ERA Architects

The use of Section 37 as a planning tool has not been without controversy. This area of the Planning Act, which grants developers exemptions from planning rules (e.g., additional height and/or density) in exchange for them providing capital for public facilities and amenities (think park space, public art, and streestscape improvements), has been referred to...

ERA Steps Back in Time

by ERA Architects

As architects (and appreciators of all things historic) an office discussion regarding family heirlooms of tools, appliances, and other cool items (that predate most of our staff) has resulted in this great photo collection of household artifacts. Brendan Stewart has a block and tackle handed down from his great grandfather.. …and a rocking chair...

Congratulations to our new Associates and Principal

by ERA Architects

In recognition of their professional achievements, ERA Architects is excited to announce the appointment of five of our staff to the position of Associate. In addition, our current Associate Graeme Stewart has been appointed the position of Principal. Each individual has contributed to our core values of city building engagement, heritage architecture conservation, and democratic community...

Urban Governance: A Joint MITACS Project ( by guest blogger Jeff Biggar)

by ERA Architects

It is a paradoxical time for the future of public spaces in Toronto. We live in a moment of increasing public awareness and interest in public spaces, but also face decreasing public resources to support them. Creating a role for the private sector in this context seems all the more necessary, but what that role entails,...

Planning and Development: A Joint MITACS Project ( by guest blogger Jeff Biggar)

by ERA Architects

Ensuring developers make contributions toward the public realm rests on how the process is managed. Whether developers are perceived as purely profit-driven or act with a social conscience depends on how the parameters are set, as well as how public goals are defended and realized. What, then, is the role of the developer in the...

Investing in the Public Realm: A Joint MITACS Project (by guest blogger Jeff Biggar)

by ERA Architects

When Toronto councillors and staff direct money into the street, it does the city a service. City advocate, Annabel Vaughn, observes that the public realm is what we understand. When we walk around the city, we see the first six stories of a building, and the rest is out of sight. Public realm in this...

Heroic: A New Book Coming Soon!

by ERA Architects

When ERA’s book Concrete Toronto: A Guide to Concrete Architecture from the Fifties to the Seventies was featured at Boston’s Pinkcomma Gallery, which exhibited concrete buildings in the Boston area, Graeme Stewart and Michael McClelland had the chance to meet with Chris Grimley, Michael Kubo, and Mark Pasnik. Kubo, who is pursuing his PhD in architecture history, alongside Pasnik...

125th Anniversary of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at U of T

by ERA Architects

Architecture Students, 1969, U of T Archives This year the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design will celebrate a landmark 125th anniversary. 125 years ago, in 1890, the University of Toronto became the first school in Canada to establish an architecture program. In honour of this, a few events will take place. May...

What’s on This Week: The Ward Book Launch, Toronto the Good, TCLF Conference, and Doors Open Toronto

by ERA Architects

Lots of exciting events taking place this week! Here’s a sneak-peek: The Ward: Wednesday, May 20, 7pm, you’re invited to join us for the book launch of The Ward: The Life and Loss of Toronto’s First Immigrant Neighbourhood at the Church of the Holy Trinity, 10 Trinity Square. See our previous post here. The Cultural Landscape Foundation...