We are thrilled to celebrate ERA founding principal Michael McClelland on receiving the @oaarchitects ' Medal of Service, recognizing exceptional contributions to the profession and the broader community.
Michael’s lifelong commitment to heritage conservation, civic leadership, and architectural practice continues to have a profound impact on communities across Canada. Through his work, writing, advocacy, and mentorship, he continues to inspire thoughtful city-building and a deeper appreciation for cultural heritage.
Congratulations, Michael, on this well-deserved recognition.
📸 Allan Gardens and TD Centre photos by Mina Markovic/ERA Architects. Distillery District photo by ERA Architects.
Reimagining Ontario’s farmsteads, one barn at a time 🚜🚜🚜
We’re excited to see ERA’s country work featured in @globeandmail this week. A vibrant piece exploring how Ontario’s rural farmsteads are being transformed into dynamic destinations for architecture and agritourism.
Alicia Cox Thomson sat down with Shelley Ludman and Lyndsey Sneddon to talk about ERA’s growing portfolio within the rural hospitality sector.
The article highlights two standout projects: GoodLot Farmstead Brewing Co. and Brighthouse Farm. Each reflects a shared ambition, to thoughtfully reinvigorate working farmland and reimagine it as a public-facing destination, opening up landscapes that were once largely inaccessible.
ERA’s role in both projects was to introduce a series of strategic interventions that support business growth while enabling new, diversified uses. These multi-year transformations balance preservation with innovation, ensuring the character of each site is retained while positioning it for long term success.
🔗 Read the article in our bio!
📸 by @nathancyprys and @thebrighthousefarm
#adaptivereuse
#Farmstead
#RuralArchitecture
#HeritageConversation
#OntarioArchitecture
#ERAArchitects
#cultureofsmall
“Compared to five years ago, we can confidently say that the industry in Canada is now beyond the pilot stage.”
— ERA Principal Graeme Stewart
Featured in the @globeandmail , the article highlights Canada's growing leadership in transformative net zero retrofit.
At ERA Architects, we’re seeing this take shape at 444 Logan with @woodgreendotorg and Penalta. From our perspective, existing buildings are at the centre of climate action, and with innovative prefabrication methods like at Logan, preserving affordable homes for the next generation.
Important work. More to come!
🔗Check out the article at the link in bio
ERA’s Alessandro Tersigni recently moderated a roundtable discussion with @mcgillu ’s Nik Luka, @torontomet ’s Sneha Mandhan, and @uoft ’s Michael Piper about the culture and potential of Canada’s suburbs for @oala_on 's Ground Magazine.
🔗 Check out the article in our bio!
Thanks to everyone who attended The Future of Art and Urban Spaces, a multidisciplinary discussion panel about supporting Toronto’s endangered cultural spaces, co-hosted by ERA’s Art=Waterfront initiative, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, and writer and curator Alex Bowron. Stay tuned for a video of the panel that will be published soon!
A huge thanks to Philip Ocampo, Alica Hall, Sandra Brewster, Alex Bowron, and Alessandro Tersigni for their powerful insights about how all of us can better support invaluable spaces for arts and culture across Toronto.
🔗 Read more about ERA’s leadership in creating, maintaining, and expanding cultural spaces at the links in our bio.
@philip.ocampo , @al_ik_ca , @sabrewst , @alex__bowron , @atersig , @thepowerplantt , @artequalswaterfront
📸 Photography by Mina Markovic
Last up for ERA’s cultural spaces theme week is the Corkin Gallery (@corkingallery ) Toronto’s Distillery District (@distilleryto ).
As prime architect for the transformation of the Gooderham and Worts distillery lands into one of Canada’s busiest cultural districts and tourist destinations, ERA worked with Shim-Sutcliffe Architects (@shimsutcliffe ) to reimagine a former Pure Spirits Building into one of Toronto’s premier commercial contemporary art galleries.
Read more about ERA’s leadership in creating, maintaining, and expanding cultural spaces at the links in our bio.
Photography by Alessandro Tersigni
Continuing with our cultural spaces theme week, the next space we’re showcasing is Trinity St. Paul’s Centre, home of Tafelmusik (@tafelmusikbocc ).
In 2008-2013, ERA worked with Clifford Restoration (@clifford.group ) and Sound Space Design to transform the late 19th-century church’s acoustics specifically for Baroque orchestral music performance, while conserving its Romanesque Revival architecture.
Read more about ERA’s leadership in creating, maintaining, and expanding cultural spaces at the links in our bio.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s space highlight!
Photography by Martin Reis; performance photo by Gary Beechy
Next up for ERA’s cultural spaces theme week is The Carlu (@thecarlu ).
Located on the seventh floor of the former Eaton’s building at College and Yonge Streets and one of Canada’s finest Art Moderne interiors, The Carlu dining and performance space opened in 1931 and was restored by ERA with WZMH Partnership (@wzmharchitects ) 2001-2006. Having hosted Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Glenn Gould, today The Carlu is a National Historic Site.
Read more about ERA’s leadership in creating, maintaining, and expanding cultural spaces at the links in our bio.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s space highlight!
Photography by Scott Weir @scottaweir
Continuing our cultural spaces theme week, next up is Paradise Theatre (@paradiseonbloor ) in Dovercourt Village.
Designed in 1937 by one of Toronto’s most prominent early 20th-century Jewish architects, Benjamin Brown, in 2019 ERA worked with Ware Malcomb (@waremalcombcanada ), Solid Design Creative (@soliddesign ), and Pride Signs (@pridesignsltd ) to rehabilitate and restore the Art Deco theatre, winning numerous awards for our work, including the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation.
Read more about ERA’s leadership in creating, maintaining, and expanding cultural spaces at the links in our bio.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s space highlight!
Photography by Nathan Cyprys @nathancyprys (exterior), and Ernesto DiStefano (interior)
To coincide with a discussion panel about the urgent need to support art and culture spaces that we’re co-hosting at @thepowerplantto this week, ERA is showcasing five of our projects involving cultural spaces across Toronto!
Up first is the @mocatoronto . From 2015-2018, ERA worked with @_archalliance_ to transform the 1920 Tower Automotive Building on Sterling Road into the world-class gallery space we know and love today.
Read more about ERA’s leadership in creating, maintaining, and expanding cultural spaces at the links in our bio. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s space highlight!
📸 Photography Ben Rahn @aframestudio
This stunning new book on Canadian architectural history navigates the Edwardian era and its most accomplished protagonist: Frank Darling.
Darling was the first Canadian architect with a truly national presence, with built projects in every province – over 360 known buildings – ranging from elaborate urban designs to prefabricated banks that rose up in towns and villages across the country.
Purchase your copy of Toronto Edwardian by David Winterton wherever books are sold.
#MQUP #readup #newbooks #bookstagram #Toronto #architecture #Canada
