Ideas & Issues

Toronto the Good 2017

by ERA Architects

Toronto the Good is back, ushering in a new season at a new venue! It is an annual party presented by ERA Architects (and friends) to celebrate the city of Toronto, and contemplate its history and evolution with fellow architects, designers, and urban-minded people. For this instalment of our annual party we are supporting the...

Update: RAC Zone Launch Event

by ERA Architects

On Wednesday, July 19th, leaders in the development of Toronto’s Residential Apartment Commercial (RAC) Zoning by-law gathered at York University to celebrate and explore challenges and next steps in empowering communities to utilize Toronto’s newest zone. The esteemed panel had representation from property owners, entrepreneurs, community members, academics and city builders with Graeme Stewart, Principal...

Refreshing Allan Gardens

by ERA Architects

The Friends of Allan Gardens (FOAG) are leading efforts to ensure that this historic public garden remains relevant and integrated into its ever-evolving surrounds. ERA’s Tatum Taylor, who also sits on FOAG’s Board of Directors, has published an article in the Summer/Parks issue of Spacing Magazine that describes the process for renewal. In her words:...

Evergreen Canada Launches An Online Exhibit: Complete Communities

by ERA Architects

Evergreen Canada has launched an online gallery entitled ‘Complete Communities‘ that showcases several projects within and surrounding the GTA that provide affordable homes, fresh food, clean water, local services, green spaces and great recreation to their residents. Accessibility is made available through walking, biking and public transit. The Ridgeway Community Court is one of these projects. Ridgeway has a...

ERA Principal Scott Weir Walks Designer Tommy Smythe Through a Few Current Conservation Projects

by ERA Architects

Scott Weir was invited to tour designer Tommy Smythe of The Marilyn Denis Show through some of ERA’s current conservation projects. The first project shown is the conservation of houses at 62-64 Charles St (project team: Andrew Pruss, Daniel Lewis and Julie Tyndorf) which is being undertaken in collaboration with aA, for Cresford Developments. Hunt Heritage is...

It’s Symposium Season!

by ERA Architects

The arrival of spring heralds opportunities to get out and enjoy engaging discourse on topics near and dear to the hearts of heritage conservationists. As a result, ERA has been branching out and sharing our knowledge with audiences in Toronto and Ottawa over the past weekend, participating in two exciting initiatives. First up, the Toronto branch...

Temporary, but Impactful: Michael McClelland Discusses New Creative Project Initiatives at The Drake Hotel

by ERA Architects

NXT City and Pavilion Project are teaming up to present ‘Short Term, Lasting Impact’, a panel discussion about the value of temporary projects at The Drake Hotel Underground. The event takes place on the evening of March 23rd, and features STACKT founder Matt Rubinoff, Layne Hinton + Rui Pimenta from in/future and Michael McClelland from...

Sabina Ali & Graeme Stewart Speak to ‘Modern Tower Blocks and the 21st Century City’

by ERA Architects

Harlyn Thompson Lecture Series – Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba Thursday, March 16, 2017 6PM Lecture Eckhardt Gramatte Hall University of Winnipeg Speakers: Sabina Ali – Chair, Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee Graeme Stewart – Principal, ERA Architects, Co-Founder/Board Member, Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal (CUG+R) and Co-Editor, Concrete Toronto: A Guidebook to Concrete...

ERA’s Big Day Out: We’re Launching Our 1st Annual Firm-wide Conference on March 3rd, 2017

by ERA Architects

ERA will be ‘out of office’ on March 3rd, as we attend our first annual conference, offering a range of opportunities to congregate and mingle as a full office! Follow the day’s proceedings – #eracon17. The following is an abridged agenda: 9:40 – WELCOME, OPENING REMARKS 9:45 – KEYNOTE SPEAKER Antonella Ceddia, Litigation Lawyer,...

The (Lane)way Forward: Exploring the Potential of Under-Served Public Space

by ERA Architects

As Toronto’s population increases in density, it places more pressure on ever-shrinking resources, including public space. The use of laneways in the city to increase public space offers the opportunity to release some of this pressure. ERA’s Annabel Vaughan moderated a panel discussion on November 30th on just this subject. Organized by The Laneway Project,...

‘Tower, Slab, Superblock: Social Housing Legacies and Futures’ Sparks the Imagination on Postwar Design and Construction

by ERA Architects

Participants included: Geraldine Dening, Co-Founder, Architects for Social Housing, Simon Elmer, Co-Founder, Architects for Social Housing, Phineas Harper, Deputy Director, The Architecture Foundation, Paul Karakusevic, Founder and Partner, Karakusevic Carson Architects, Jean-Louis Cohen – Sheldon H. Solow Professor in the History of Architecture at New York University, Javier Arpa, Research and Education Coordinator of The Why...

New Visions for Social Housing in Canadian Architect Magazine

by ERA Architects

In the November issue of Canadian Architect author Jay Pitter investigates how spatial issues contribute to community challenges such as isolation, despair and violence in urban social housing communities. Using the community where she grew up in Toronto as a case study, Pitter explores the design deficiencies of the Corbusian “Towers in the Park” style...

Big Cities in a ‘small’ Context

by ERA Architects

How do cities grow? Do we limit growth or encourage it? Direct it or simply discover its natural rhythms? While municipal planning, land use policies and settlement patterns have shaped the physical aspect of North American cities, often social, cultural and environmental forces leave a firmer mark on our communities. ERA’s Philip Evans and Heather...

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...

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...

“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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...