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ERA Architects

Projects

The RAC Zone

...to enable healthy, complete, and vibrant neighbourhoods better able to respond to local needs and opportunities. The goal is addressed primarily by allowing for a full range of uses within these neighbourhoods: commercial activity, social activity, and community services – amenities that most areas of Toronto take for granted. Surprisingly, these uses within Apartment districts have until now been largely...

Waterworks

...housing and employment training facilities. The adaptive reuse of the Waterworks includes the full retention and reuse of the machine shop building as a food hall and the retention of the northern portion of the complex to accommodate a mix of uses. The new compatible construction features retail at grade, a full-service YMCA athletic facility on the second and third...

The Distillery District

...Work included municipal approvals, specifications and detail drawings, and site review for the restoration and adaptive re-use of the heritage fabric. Specific projects within the district include: Gooderham Condominiums These two red brick masonry buildings were constructed at the Gooderham & Worts Distillery in 1889 as Tank Houses and later converted to serve as Rack Houses. The Gooderham & Worts...

Art Gallery of Ontario

...West, a composed collage of architectural styles and talent representative of Toronto’s growth and evolution since 1818. It is a part of a cultural community that includes Grange Park, the Ontario College of Art (OCAD) and many local art galleries. ERA worked with Frank Gehry Architects as the Heritage Consultant for the 2002-2009 renovations and expansion of the gallery. http://www.ago.net/...

Adaptive re-use study in Bois-de-la-Roche

...was then carried out to understand the feasibility of the proposed new uses. These inputs served as the basis for a diagnostic of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for each of the four buildings and for the site as a whole. In parallel, the ideation exercise was enriched by a study of comparable precedents for agritourism projects, as well...

Bleau residence – Adaptive re-use study

An architectural significant example of 19th-century farmhouses in Montreal, the Bleau residence was erected on the footprint of an older house. It was home to several generations of the Bleau family, who shaped the house and its surroundings to meet their needs over the years. In addition to farming, the family also operated a ferry between Rivière-des-Prairies and Lachenaie. In...

Culture of Outports

This initiative by ERA Architects and the Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal (CUG+R), uses research, design, and planning to help support livable communities undergoing economic and cultural change after the decline of the Northern Cod Fishery. The Culture of Outports team uses historical research, field research, and public consultation to assess the built, natural, and “intangible” cultural resources of...

The Selby front facade The Selby

...1883, the Gooderham Mansion had many uses over the years. Built for Charles Gooderham, a member of one of Toronto’s most famous families, it was briefly the second home of prestigious all-girls school Branksome Hall before becoming the Selby Hotel in 1912. As the Selby Hotel, the Mansion was regarded as a centre of cultural life in the city, hosting...

5 St. Joseph

As part of the adaptive reuse of the historic block at Yonge and St. Joseph Streets, the FIVE Condos project at 5 St. Joseph celebrates the area’s commercial heritage, while creating a mix of new uses to enhance and rejuvenate this diverse, urban neighbourhood. The project includes half a block of designated heritage buildings between 606 and 618 Yonge Street...

Loblaws Groceteria at West Block

...By the 2010s, major conservation work was required to save the building. Working with the owners over many years, ERA and the rest of the design team reimagined the site as a combination of retail, office, and residential uses. The one-storey warehouse, extending below the Gardiner Expressway at the north end of the site, would be replaced with a pair...

University Commons, University of Alberta

...central design challenge involved seamlessly integrating existing elements with new construction to transform the building into a student hub while maintaining cohesion. Retaining and partially demolishing the 1922 building presented the highest risk to cost and constructibility, demanding careful stability measures and the engagement of Isherwood for shoring and retention design. Program accommodation posed another challenge, as certain uses required...

Douglas Mental Health Institute Heritage Background Study

...isolation of patients in close proximity to nature, the campus gradually expanded outwards to become an integral part of the surrounding neighbourhood. The pavilions, organized in a central core or spread out across the green campus, were for the most part also transformed to adapt to new medical practices. The institute is still in operation today, but uses and needs...