Stories/

Landscape and Urban Design

Public space: Two from our library

by ERA Architects , December 23, 2014

At ERA we often gather on a Wednesday morning or a Friday afternoon to share progress on recent projects, issues affecting our cities, or to look at both historical and contemporary research in architecture, landscape, planning, design, technique, process, theory, etc. Recently these titles came up for discussion: How to Study Public Life by Jan...

Tower Renewal crash course, update on “Showcase”

by ERA Architects , December 17, 2014

Recently ERA’s Graeme Stewart and Evergreen Cityworks‘ John Brodhead presented a webinar on Tower Renewal in partnership with the Social Innovation Generation and Cities for People. The webinar presents an impressive picture of the last eight years of Tower Renewal efforts, and includes discussion of Toronto’s unique built form in relation to other cities, its...

Architecture and value

by ERA Architects , December 3, 2014

This past November at Carleton University’s Forum Lecture Series, ERA’s Michael McClelland presented on how changing cultural values interact with how we practice architecture. Seeking to expand the range of what we think of as architecture, Michael’s talk asks, What should architects do? According to him, they shouldn’t only make buildings, but conduct research, engage...

On New York’s “Printed Matter”

by ERA Architects , October 29, 2014

A recent issue of C Magazine, themed “Location,” features documentation of an artwork by ERA’s Josh Thorpe and artist David Court. The work On Printed Matter was exhibited at the New York institution Printed Matter in 2011 and was recently republished in C’s inside-back-cover section “Artefact.” On Printed Matter is an installation of text in vinyl lettering on the shopfront window of Printed Matter....

University Ave.: A heritage landscape of value?

by ERA Architects , October 17, 2014

The summer edition of Ground Magazine features an article by ERA’s Michael McClelland and Brendan Stewart on the history and design of Toronto’s University Avenue. When it was first designed in 1829 the Avenue was hailed as “one of, if not the finest in the Dominion.” Over the next century, the tranquil tree-lined promenade fell...

Allan Gardens Harvest Festival

by ERA Architects , October 10, 2014

On September 28, the Friends of Allan Gardens (FOAG) hosted its first Urban Harvest Festival in one of Toronto’s most historic parks. Three hundred people joined us to celebrate autumn amid the colouring trees and early-20th century greenhouses of Allan Gardens. With the generous support of TD Bank, FOAG collaborated with Food Forward, a food...

Toronto the Good: Great!

by ERA Architects , September 19, 2014

Toronto the Good 2014, our tenth annual public party, was a big success. We had attendance exceeding 1000 people, and, according to accounts, a good time was had by all. Beer and wine flowed, music spun, people danced, and a great deal of urban-minded mingling occurred. ERA has been privileged to host and co-host this...

Aug 26: New ideas on Toronto’s cultural landscapes

by ERA Architects , August 20, 2014

Tuesday Aug. 26 at 6 p.m., join us for CONTEMPORARY SITES: new ways of seeing and using Toronto’s cultural landscapes, organized by ICOMOS Canada and the Centre for City Ecology (CCE). ERA’s Michael McClelland and the CCE’s Annabel Vaughan will moderate discussion with a great panel of speakers: Janna Levitt, Partner LGA Architectural Partners Robert Kerr, Supervisor, Special Events, Fort...

Sports pad and Sky-o-swale launch in Scarborough

by ERA Architects , August 15, 2014

Wednesday, August 20 from 3 to 6pm, join us and our friends at the The East Scarborough Storefront to launch two exciting new features in the landscape design. The Sky-o-swale shade-water structure is a green-roof pavilion that filters rainwater to irrigate the adjacent gardens, and the MLSE/Jumpstart Sports Court is a former parking lot converted...

RAC Zoning Approved for 500 Sites

by ERA Architects , June 25, 2014

This June, Toronto City Council approved the proposed Residential Apartment Commercial (RAC) zone. Following a process of nearly two years of research, public consultation, policy development, and advocacy in partnership with United Way, City of Toronto and Toronto Public Health, the RAC zoning will take effect by summer’s end, (barring appeal), in nearly 500 Apartment properties...

Grappling with heritage

by ERA Architects , May 28, 2014

Recently ERA’s Michael McClelland spoke at a Doors Open Toronto event entitled “Redesigning Toronto.” The PechaKucha-style event moderated by Spacing’s Shaun Micallef asked several leading architects to speak about advancing the design of the city. Michael’s talk surveyed changing conceptions of heritage over the years, beginning with the traditional conception of grand and noble landmarks...

Birnbaum on Toronto’s landscapes

by ERA Architects , May 23, 2014

On Wed. May 21, Charles Birnbaum from The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) spoke at Toronto’s Arts and Letters Club. This “Inside the Planner’s Studio” event was sponsored by the City of Toronto and attended by City staff in Parks, Urban Design, and Planning, as well as numerous professionals in architecture and landscape design. Charles introduced...

Eglinton Crosstown moves forward

by ERA Architects , April 17, 2014

ERA has been working with the City of Toronto, Book McIlroy, planningAlliance, and Public Work, among others, on numerous objectives and design principles that will guide the design and construction of the Eglinton Crosstown transit corridor. As part of the process, the City’s Planning and Growth Management Committee has recently published and approved Eglinton Connects: Volume...

New opportunities through zoning reform: Your feedback needed

by ERA Architects , March 21, 2014

The City of Toronto wants to bring more vitality and convenience to its Apartment Neighbourhoods. In March and April, a number of public consultations will be held to incorporate the ideas of community members. A new zoning type, “Residential Apartment Commercial” (RAC), has been created to provide more amenities and more usable public space in...

We’re off to Botwood, Nfld.

by ERA Architects , February 14, 2014

As part of the Culture of Outports initiative, ERA’s Andrew Pruss, Alana Young, and Jordan Molnar are heading to Botwood Newfoundland from Feb. 15 to 22. Together with a group of Ryerson Architecture students, we’ll be collaborating with the community on a number of events, as well as the design and construction of an intervention...

Hamilton Heritage Inventory

by ERA Architects , December 18, 2013

Recently, ERA’s Michael McClelland and Victoria Angel spoke to a group of approximately 80 people at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre in Hamilton regarding ERA’s role in Hamilton’s Downtown Built Heritage Inventory (DBHI) project. The DBHI project is a pilot project to review and update information about 789 downtown properties on the Inventory of...

Toronto / Sweden: Resilient Urbanism

by ERA Architects , November 27, 2013

Over the past several years we’ve had the pleasure of an ongoing exchange with colleagues in Sweden regarding urban design. This has included a series of research tours, participation in the neighbourhood design project Selma in Göteborg, and various events in collaboration with the Swedish consulate here in Toronto. The aim of the exchange is to tackle the challenge of achieving...

Designed landscapes: Ground Magazine

by ERA Architects , October 30, 2013

Ground, the magazine of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA), recently published a new article by ERA’s Michael McClelland entitled “Sites of Value: Designating Modern Cultural Landscapes in Ontario.” The article looks at Queen’s Park Complex, designed by Sasaki Strong Associates, as an early example of landscape conservation efforts in Canada. Using the Complex...

Rountable: Toronto’s Suburbs

by admin , September 26, 2013

On Monday Sept. 30 at 9:30 am, at Toronto City Hall, ERA’s Graeme Stewart participates in a Chief Planner Roundtable called “The Shape of Toronto’s Suburbs.” The Roundtable is a public forum for Torontonians to discuss key city-building challenges. Civic leaders and industry professionals familiar with the discussion topics convene for each roundtable session to...

Urban Design Awards

by admin , September 20, 2013

Evergreen Brickworks and Toronto Police Services’ 11 Division have just been awarded Toronto Urban Design Awards of Excellence for “Public Buildings in Context.” And both Maple Leaf Gardens and St. James Cathedral Centre won awards of merit. Evergreen Brickworks, what the Jury had to say: “Though chaotic at first glance, the site takes its structure...

Michael McClelland joins TCLF Stewardship Council

by ERA Architects , August 13, 2013

ERA is pleased to announce that Michael McClelland has recently joined The Cultural Landscape Foundation’s Stewardship Council. The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) is a US-based not-for-profit dedicated to increasing public awareness of heritage landscape architecture and design. Through education, advocacy, outreach, and collaboration, TCLF aims to better our understanding of cultural landscapes, and to maintain...

Port Union Community Build

by ERA Architects , July 11, 2013

The Culture of Outports program has just concluded its third year of “community build” projects in Trinity Bay North, Newfoundland. The project uses planning and design thinking to bring new ideas and energy to outport communities experiencing economic and social change post-fisheries. This year ERAers Andrew Pruss, Alana Young, Shelley Ludman, Douglas de Gannes, traveled...

Landscape symposium: Toronto 2015

by admin , June 7, 2013

During a visit to Toronto this May, Charles Birnbaum, founder of The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), announced that his organization will be holding a 2015 landscape architecture symposium in Toronto. Set just prior to the Toronto Pan Am Games of 2015, the symposium is perfectly timed to coincide with the completion of several new landscape...

Charles Birnbaum visits landscapes of Toronto

by ERA Architects , June 7, 2013

In May, ERA, Janet Rosenberg, and the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA) was pleased to sponsor a number of events centered around our visiting friend Charles Birnbaum, founder of The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF). Lecture After a couple of days touring Toronto and studying its diverse designed landscapes, Charles gave a lecture at University...

Walking Tour of Yorkville (Part 2)

by admin , May 24, 2013

Saturday May 25, 10 a.m., with ERA’s Michael McClelland and Charles Birnbaum of The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Meeting place: The base of the giant granite rock in Village of Yorkville Park (south side of Cumberland St., between Bellair St. and Avenue Rd.). Half a century ago, the village of Yorkville was a bohemian neighbourhood frequented...