ERA Initiatives

The Possibilities of Sonic Heritage: An Interview with Pamela Jordan  

Experiencing places involves not just seeing but smelling, touching, tasting, and hearing, too.

by Alessandro Tersigni , February 9, 2026

Places with historic significance have traditionally been understood in such a visually oriented way that knowing their value through other senses has been widely overlooked. What you see — a cornice, brickwork bonds, bare concrete — has long held the most weight when describing and characterizing architectural heritage. Yet experiencing places involves not just seeing but...

Uncovering Toronto’s Lost Black Churches

ERA's Interpreting Slavery, Trauma, and Heritage Initiative research project

by ERA Architects , February 24, 2025

The Uncovering Toronto’s Lost Black Churches research project is a collaboration between ERA’s Interpreting Slavery, Trauma, and Heritage (ISTH) Initiative, led by Michael Otchie and Zeina Ahmed, and Camilla Minh Hoang.

Reading and Writing Frank Darling: David Winterton on Toronto Edwardian  

by Alessandro Tersigni , February 17, 2025

ERA senior associate and architectural historian David Winterton recently completed the first-ever monograph on arguably the city’s most important architect: Frank Darling.

One Year of ‘The Signs That Define Toronto’ 

by Kurt Kraler , December 8, 2023

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since the marquee in front of the iconic El Mocambo nightclub announced the momentous occasion; “The Signs That Define Toronto book launch”. Held on the evening of December 1, 2022, the event played host to an enthusiastic crowd of people who gathered to celebrate Toronto signs and...

Graeme Stewart on the interdisciplinary brilliance of George Baird

by Graeme Stewart , December 5, 2023

After the passing of George Baird in October, ERA principal Graeme Stewart reflected in Azure Magazine on his relationship with the architectural theorist and educator and the great value of engaging with architecture and urbanism through an interdisciplinary prism. Baird has been described as a member of what is sometimes referred to as “The Toronto...

Michael McClelland talks taste, class, and conservation in Azure Magazine

by Michael McClelland , November 29, 2023

Azure Magazine‘s Stefan Novakovic recently interviewed ERA principal Michael McClelland about the relationships between taste, social class, and conservation and how they determine the ways we see and live in cities. As our understanding of heritage continues to evolve and broaden to include more diverse forms of value, this historical and practical look at the...

Dragon Centre Stories: Perspectives on Multi-Cultural Retail and Suburban Cultural Heritage 

by Alexis Cohen , November 15, 2022

Opened in 1984 in Agincourt, Scarborough, Dragon Centre was North America’s first indoor Chinese mall. Its developers — brothers Daniel and Henry Hung, originally from Hong Kong — adapted an old roller-skating rink into a mall serving the Greater Toronto Area’s growing Chinese-Canadian population. Combining Hong Kong’s dense commercial markets and the big box North...

The Signs That Define Toronto: A new book from ERA and Spacing 

by Kurt Kraler , November 15, 2022

We are happy to announce the release of The Signs That Define Toronto. Published and produced with Spacing, ERA partner Philip Evans and architect Kurt Kraler team up with Spacing’s Matthew Blackett and 20 contributors to reveal the history, culture, and stories of the city through its unique signage. The book is packed full of...

Announcing the Frank Darling Book Project

by David Winterton , September 12, 2022

Disponible en français ci-dessous. Over the past six years I’ve been researching and occasionally lecturing at SSAC conferences on Canadian architect Frank Darling (1850–1923) and his ultimate firm, Darling & Pearson. A clear narrative has evolved that outlines his leadership in developing an official “Edwardian” architecture in Toronto and beyond, the firm’s tremendous output of...

Diving Into the ERA Library—Part 1 

by ERA Architects , June 28, 2022

Having access to unique and highly specific books about neighbourhoods, cities, and architecture is a vital aspect of the culture of ERA. Periodically, we will pull books off the shelves of ERA’s library to reveal some of the charming and forgotten publications that shed light on local history.   Truth & Reconciliation: Calls to Action ...

Three New Principals and Expanding Leadership at ERA

by ERA Architects , March 21, 2022

ERA Architects is proud to announce our firm’s three new principals and the latest staff promotions and hirings. ERA is committed to connecting heritage to wider considerations of urban design and city building, while providing our staff with opportunities to grow their professional careers. PRINCIPALS We’re proud to announce Victoria Angel (Ottawa), Jan Kubanek (Montreal),...

ERA leads the conversation of digital transformation at the Beijing Urban and Architecture Biennale

by ERA Architects , November 25, 2021

Building Information Modeling or Building Information Management (BIM) is the foundation of digital transformation in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction industry (AEC). It is a highly collaborative process that allows architects, engineers, developers, contractors, manufacturers, and other construction professionals to plan, design, and construct a structure or building within one single 3D model. It can...

ERA’s Graeme Stewart and Ya’el Santopinto named to the RAIC’s College of Fellows

by ERA Architects , May 11, 2021

ERA is thrilled to announce that Graeme Stewart and Ya’el Santopinto have been named to the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC)’s College of Fellows. This well-deserved honour is in recognition of outstanding achievement in architecture, and distinguished service to the profession and community. From the RAIC’s citations: Graeme’s career to date has largely focused...

Championing resiliency this Earth Day

by ERA Architects , April 22, 2021

As we celebrate Earth Day, ERA is reflecting on the shift needed to meet Canada’s 2050 net-zero emissions targets. Our built environment plays an important role in creating a more sustainable future and ERA is committed to being a leader that champions climate solutions through our work. Here’s how: Adaptive reuse of changing infrastructures: High-impact...

Celebrating community-led design with Gordonridge

by ERA Architects , January 29, 2021

Working closely with communities to create place-based, local designs is integral to ERA’s approach. In September, we celebrated the completion of Gordonridge’s new multi-sport court. This project was a collaborative effort through-and-through, with our partners at MLSE Foundation and Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, our client at Toronto Community Housing, and its users, the community at...

Pandemic effect: ERA Architects for Canadian Architect magazine

by ERA Architects , August 7, 2020

As part of Canadian Architect’s Pandemic Effect series, ERA Architects’ Ya’el Santopinto and Graeme Stewart wrote about how the current pandemic is shining a light on the importance of prioritizing the retrofitting of existing mid-century towers.  “Canada’s affordable apartment towers are the backbone of its purpose-built rental housing system, representing more than half of all...

Passive House: A new way of working with existing buildings

by ERA Architects , July 3, 2020

Cities are at the forefront of climate change. In the fight for a low-carbon future, a new wave of building standards is changing how we think about energy-efficiency and environmentally friendly design. One of the top standards is Passive House. According to Passive House Canada, Passive House is regarded as the “most rigorous voluntary energy-based...

ERA talks retrofitting towers (virtually)

by ERA Architects , June 30, 2020

Over the past few weeks, Graeme Stewart and Ya’el Santopinto have had the opportunity to participate in webinars to share more about ERA’s tower renewal projects. A large focus of these talks have been about our learnings surrounding the retrofitting of the Ken Soble Tower in Hamilton, which is slated to be one of the...

Celebrating ERA’s 30th anniversary

by ERA Architects , May 1, 2020

On May 1st, ERA is marking 30 years of heritage conservation, community building, and catalyzing change both in urban and rural settings. While we may not be able to celebrate together physically this year,  we thought we’d take a virtual walk down memory lane to mark some of the themes behind our projects that have...

Affordability and resiliency: Renewing Toronto’s towers

by ERA Architects , February 26, 2020

Photo courtesy Jesse Colin Jackson Over time, Canada’s aging mid-century towers have become the backbone of the country’s affordable rental supply, home to hundreds of thousands of low and middle-income households across the country.   There are 2,000 postwar apartment towers located throughout Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe Region alone, representing nearly half of the region’s...

The Ward Cabaret: The sound of Toronto’s first cross-cultural community

by ERA Architects , December 3, 2019

Cultural heritage is influenced and shaped by communities and their histories. In Toronto, this means much of the city’s cultural heritage is impacted by the multitudes of different communities that call it home. One theatrical production is giving this cultural heritage a sound. The Ward Cabaret is back in Toronto after a sold-out run at...

Building for the community, with the community

by ERA Architects , October 16, 2019

As an architecture firm with values rooted in how we collectively shape and build better cities and their spaces, it’s important to us to engage deeply with the community on our projects. While much of our work starts with assessments of existing buildings, observing their condition and advising site owners on how best to proceed...

Tower Renewal Solutions on CBC Radio

by ERA Architects , January 25, 2019

As aging apartment buildings begin to contribute to the housing crisis, (exposed this week in the infrastructure failure at 260 Wellesley, Toronto) the clear response is system-scale reinvestment — and it’s underway right now across Canada. Of particular note, the Ken Soble Tower Project is one of the most significant and precedent-setting tower retrofit projects...

Immigration and Daily Life in the Ward

by ERA Architects , December 17, 2018

We are very excited to announce the latest installation of the ‘Armoury Street Dig’ series of exhibits at Toronto City Hall. Commemorating and interpreting the histories of St John’s Ward, one of Toronto’s first points of settlement for many newcomers throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the exhibit “Immigration and Daily Life in the Ward: Addresses...

ERA at Passive House Canada Conference

by ERA Architects , November 6, 2018

Last week, ERA’s Graeme Stewart and Ya’el Santopinto joined City Housing Hamilton CEO Tom Hunter to present on the Ken Soble Tower Transformation at Passive House Canada’s National Conference in Vancouver.  The Ken Soble Tower Transformation project kicks off a groundbreaking program by CityHousing Hamilton to use the ultra-low energy Passive House standard for the...