Mark Medley had a piece in the Saturday Post exploring the future of Ontario Place. He quotes a number of local practitioners, including ERA’s Michael McClelland.

Perhaps we should revisit the past when deciding the future. Michael McClelland of E.R.A. Architects thinks we should look at Zeidler’s original blueprint.

“My hope would be that they’d reinvest in the original ideas,” he says, “and figure out how to improve them, rather then go, ‘That’s all crap; we’re going to take it all away.’ ”

McClelland also points to Zeidler’s unbuilt Harbour City project, which would have created a neighbourhood of 60,000 people on what is now the Toronto Island Airport; [project spokesperson Hugh] Mansfield says plans that include residential elements will not be dismissed.

Read the full article ‘Once a gem, now generally forgotten, what could the future hold for Ontario Place?‘

Completed just before he joined ERA, one of Joey Giaimo’s projects is featured in the July issue of Canadian Architect.

Bred from his Masters thesis work at UBC,

which considered residual or underutilized space in the city and how it could be redesigned in ways not typically considered to connect with adjacent spaces, Giaimo proposed that the sheds be constructed of customary, practical materials to blend in with the industrial context of the neighbourhood–but in an unconventional way to challenge current approaches to these stereotypical ancillary structures and create meaningful public engagement or activity. …

“Formally, sheds are boring structures–strictly utilitarian,” says Giaimo. “The project questions this understanding and how design could inform a rethinking of this building type.”

Read the full article ‘Two Sheds Are Better Than One‘ by Clare Tattersall here.

A huge congratulations goes out to newlyweds Jessie and Mark!

[Unfortunately, not this kind of Marble Madness]

A number of ERAers got together to do a group order of reclaimed Carrara marble from First Canadian Place.  All 45,000 2′ x 4′ marble panels are currently being removed from the tower, and will soon be replaced by larger glass panels.  A slick animation of the process is available here.  The reclaimed marble is available for public purchase, with a minimum order of 30 pieces.

We look forward to seeing what everyone does with their new/old marble; expect coffee tables and counter-tops galore.  Hopefully Toronto is soon awash in re-used Carrara marble.  A few words of warning for anyone else looking to get in on the fun: the batch delivery process was convoluted and involved many delays, the individual slabs were a real challenge to move once delivered (each weighing +200lbs, depending upon varying thicknesses), and the chipped, soiled, and broken condition of many of the slabs limit their re-use potential - though with a bit of effort it’s a unique opportunity to get to work with high-grade locally-sourced recycled material at an extreme bargain price.

ERA Architects are proud to announce the opening of their Prince Edward County office, located in beautiful Picton. (The above photo is not the office, but the barn! Yes, the office has a barn. A wonderful old barn.)

Architects Lindsay Reid and Scott Bailey will be working from this location. Lindsay is a licensed architect with more than ten years of experience in the field of heritage conservation. She has a special interest in the conservation of our cultural institutions as well as the protection and appreciation of our modern heritage. As a LEED accredited professional she revisits traditional methods and technologies as a means to inform sustainable solutions.

Scott is a licensed architect with more than ten years experience in all stages of building analysis, planning, design, contract documentation, field review and project administration for renovation projects and new buildings. He has worked on projects in both the private and public sectors, often working to marry historic buildings with new construction.

Currently the PEC office are researching the restoration of a number of local historic trains, including the H.C.W. Steam Train in Wakefield, Quebec, and the Spirit of Sir John A Train in Kingston.

ERA celebrated the season with our annual BBQ yesterday. Andrew generously provided his back yard for the festivities, which lasted well into the evening.  The weather was sweltering, the huge spread of food was delicious, many refreshing beverages were imbibed, and nothing was broken. All and all, a great success.

Peter Kuitenbrouwer had an article in yesterday’s Post highlighting an adaptive reuse proposal for part of the R.L. Hearn Generating Station.  In their exhibition ‘Ecology.Design.Synergy’ at the MaRS Centre, Behnisch Architects showcase a schematic design proposal to insert three hockey rinks in the Hearn’s Turbine Hall - a plan which ERA was initially involved with exploring.

Meanwhile, ERA Architects of Toronto, known for adaptive reuse of industrial buildings such as the Brickworks, Wychwood Barns and Distillery District, is lending its weight to a movement to reuse the Hearn.

Read the full article ‘Proposal calls for three rinks in Hearn plant‘

A map of Toronto highlighting the downtown core and the site of the R.L. Hearn Generating Station. Will MacIvor

Situated just ten minutes from downtown and right on the doorstep of Lake Ontario, the Hearn is a mammoth and rugged post-industrial structure which currently sits vacant.  With all the development happening in the Portlands district in the next 50 years, the Hearn is a unique civic asset ripe for re-imagination as a hub for the proposed Lower Don Lands neighbourhood.

The Turbine Hall addressed in the Behnisch plan occupies approximately 2/5ths of the total volume of the building; what further opportunities might exist if we were to consider the adaptive reuse potentials for the entire site?

Site model of the Portlands area showing the original 1834 shoreline (beneath), and the contemporary shoreline made up of urban fill (above) - with the Hearn structure highlighted in white. Will MacIvor

ERA’s Will MacIvor - who also used to work with Behnisch in Los Angeles - explored civic-oriented adaptive re-use possibilities for the Hearn plant as his Master’s in Architecture thesis design project.  Follow the jump below for more information.

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David Yoon has produced a series of retouched photographs illustrating how streets in LA would look and feel at imaginary, narrower widths. One might also think of them as a very effective demonstration of urban priorities - the built reality of the North American prioritization of the automobile versus human-scale livability. See more at his blog.

Conceptual collage of overlapping 1930s and contemporary MLG streetscapes at the corner of Church and Carlton (including Humphrey Bogart biking by, just for good measure). William MacIvor, ERA Architects.

The on-going adaptive reuse of Maple Leaf Gardens is featured in the June edition of Canadian Architect.

ERA Architects has signed on to deal with the restoration of the façade and the canopy. … [A]bout one-fifth of the bricks will be repointed, [and] much of the material can be salvaged from the new openings for loading bays and air intake vents. The upper level fenestration will be refitted with double-glazed vintage steel industrial windows. ERA is also developing a restoration plan for the oft-renovated entrance canopy that brings its appearance (including fonts) back to the Gardens’ heyday from the 1940s to the 1960s.

The current state of internal excavation, and preliminary shoring & foundation work. ERA Architects.

Dave Leblanc had an article on the redevelopment of the King Edward Hotel in yesterdays Globe and Mail.

The hotel – ventilation, colonnades and all – opened in May 1903 and was advertised as “absolutely fire-proof” (built of steel and concrete) to calm guests fearful of staying on upper floors. It had everything: Women-only areas for solo female travelers, lavish murals, a men’s barber shop, the Palm Room, the Oak Room bar and, of course, the exquisite Rotunda. In 1921, the 18-storey “skyscraper” addition, designed by a Buffalo, N.Y. and a London, Ontario firm, was tacked onto the east side of the hotel; until being eclipsed by the Royal York in 1929, the King Eddy was the largest hotel in the country. The Crystal Ballroom on the 18th floor set a new standard, and celebrities from Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks to Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor partied there.

Three floors of the hotel building which had previously been commercial space are  being redeveloped as private condominiums.  ERA are the architects-in-charge of the project, with The Design Agency handling interior design.

Rendering by The Design Agency.

Read the full article “Old King Eddy shows how to mix business and history” from the May 27, 2010, edition of the Globe and Mail here.

Gallery 1313 in Parkdale is hosting an architecturally-themed exhibition to tie in with this year’s Doors Open festival.  The show is curated by Toronto Star urban issues and architecture correspondent Christopher Hume.  In the gallery’s own words;

this exhibition gives artists a unique opportunity to explore the influences of local architecture in their artistic practice. The exhibition pays homage to [Doors Open] and allows the public an opportunity to make a further connection with city architecture by viewing the creative process that has inspired these artists.

ERA’s William MacIvor will have a few pieces on show, including collage-based adaptive reuse studies of the oft-neglected R.L. Hearn Generating Station. Be sure and drop in while you’re out exploring the built environment this weekend.

Open Doors
An Exhibition Inspired by Doors Open
May 26^th - June 9^th 2010
Reception May 27th 6:30-10pm

Gallery 1313
1313 Queen St. West
Gallery Hours Wed - Sun 1-6pm
www.g1313.org

Above graphic by ERA Architects.

York Quay Centre at Harbourfront Centre
235 Queens Quay West

Follow the jump below for the full itinerary of the evening’s scheduled events.

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Nissan commercial filmed in front of our client Steve’s freshly renovated house, a project ERA worked on in partnership with the terrific interior designers Croma Design, under Steve’s excellent direction.  Nicely done Steve!

This past Saturday’s Globe and Mail had a short piece by Lisa Rochon; Lighting up Maple Leaf Gardens, high-lighting (double pun intended) the ongoing interior demolition work at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Photograph above by ERA Architects.

ERA is hosting its annual Toronto the Good party with Spacing Magazine, the Toronto Society of Architects, the National Film Board, Ben McNally books, and David Vallee.

The Toronto the Good 2010 party will be held concurrently with the Authors at Harbourfront series, that includes presentations from:

Margaret and Phil Goodfellow
A Guidebook to Contemporary Modern Architecture in Toronto

Shawn Micallef
Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto

NFB Filmmaker-in-residence Katerina Cizek
The Thousandth Tower web documentary

Wednesday May 26, 2010 _ 6pm to midnight

free admission to the party _ catering by David Vallee _ cash bar

York Quay Centre at
Harbourfront Centre
235 Queens Quay West

For more information please visit:
http://www.era.on.ca
http://www.readings.org

Save the date - further details to follow!

The first ever Art of the Danforth art crawl is in full swing, including an exhibition along on the hoarding at the Roxy (Formerly Allenby) Theatre construction site.  ERA has been working on the restoration and adaptive re-use of the Allenby Theatre for ESSO, including the conversion of the lobby space of the old theatre into a new Tim Hortons.

The Allenby Theatre opened in 1935 and was designed by the well-known Toronto architectural firm of Kaplan and Sprachman.  This firm, established in 1921, was responsible for the design of between seventy and eighty percent of all movie theatres in Canada between the years 1921 and 1950.  At the time it stood as a landmark building on Danforth Avenue because of its level of detailing and scale in relation to the adjacent commercial properties.

Work is scheduled to be complete by Summer 2010, including restoration of the glass (previously vitrolite) ground floor exterior lobby and ticket booth. The Art Moderne masonry street façade and windows are complete. The Allenby Theatre’s new life as a Tim Hortons is sure to aid in the revival of the Eastern Danforth Avenue neighborhood, encouraging development and community activity along this stretch of the street.

Pictured above, the Pigeon Paradigm Project ‘celebrates the cultural and natural history of this area of Toronto and the vibrant life that now exists along Danforth Avenue’, according to artists Real Eguchi & Barbara Flanagan-Eguchi. More images are available on Flickr.

Today’s Globe and Mail features an article by Angela Kryhul about the ongoing development at the Evergreen Brick Works; Brick Works fired up for the future, including an informative time-line of the historic evolution of the site.

From the article:

William Taylor was digging holes for fence posts one day when he came across a type of clay that he suspected would make a high-quality brick. His hunch proved correct and in 1889 William and his brothers John and George started a quarry and factory that, for nearly 100 years, churned out bricks and kiln-fired clay products used to build Canadian landmarks such as the Ontario Legislature and Osgoode Hall.

But the once bustling Don Valley Brick Works was abandoned in 1984. The jumble of dilapidated brick buildings and metal sheds sat idle for close to three decades until Evergreen – a national charity devoted to greening communities – approached the City of Toronto with a proposal to reinvent the site as a showplace for urban sustainability.

That transformation is now taking shape as the Evergreen Brick Works is readied for a September grand opening. Forest, meadow and wetlands occupy the northern part of the 16-hectare property, which was once the clay and shale quarry. To the south is the cluster of 16 heritage-designated buildings, 12 of which are being redeveloped as part of the $55-million project.

As Heritage Architect for the project, ERA continues to work diligently behind the scenes to ensure that the built history and cultural heritage of the site are celebrated through the final development.

In a related aside, ERA is also working on the redevelopment and rehabilitation of the John F. Taylor house, built by the son of John Taylor Sr.  Later additions to the original Taylor House will be demolished, and the existing site will be landscaped and improved to make the site more usable, and to enhance views of the house from Broadview Avenue.

photograph courtesy of the Toronto Archives.

Andrew recently attended the Glass & Glazing in the 21st Century: Design and preservation of Contemporary and Historic Architecture conference at MIT, and gave us an overview of the highlights at this week’s Friday social hour.

The conference presenters were a diverse group including architects, engineers, designers, manufacturers and fabricators working on projects that explore the properties of glass and how it can alter light, insulate envelopes and compose leading edge structures.

A selection of projects by conference presenter James Carpenter.

This was tempered with participation from conservationist who are engaged in trying to solve the significant problems encountered in early modern buildings that use significant amounts of glass. Finally, there was a day long immersion into stained glass conservation practices in the US and Europe.

Bigelow Chapel at the Mount Auburn Cemetery

As Yogi Berra said; ‘it’s like deja vu all over again’.

Alec has arrived in Kenya, where he is taking a few weeks away from ERA in order to oversee the construction of his design for the Oleleshua Primary School in Ewaso Ngiro. It looks as though work is sprinting ahead, with the entire community pitching in.

For more updates, be sure and visit the project blog at Harambee for Humanity.

Since the story has leaked, we feel safe enough revealing some photographs of the interior demolition at Maple Leaf Gardens. These photographs were taken approximately three weeks ago, and work is on-going..

Though the destruction looks ‘apocalyptic’, it is all being performed in an extremely careful and controlled manner, and in the service of future renewal.  The renovated facility will be jointly owned by Loblaws and Ryerson University, and will feature retail facilities at the ground floor with a university sports complex above, including an ice rink on the upper level beneath the central dome.

More images after the jump.

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Dave LeBlanc has an excellent article in the Globe and Mail today about one of our favorite projects, the Parkwood National Historic Site.

Parkwood National Historic Site was built in 1916 as the home of the late R. S. McLaughlin, founder of General Motors Canada. The building, designed by prominent Toronto architects Darling and Pearson, now serves as a historic house museum, with a collection that includes original furniture, paintings, and tapestries. ERA has provided professional conservation services for the site, including the restoration of the stone grand stair case and terrace overlooking the Water Garden, designed by John Lyle.

Read In Oshawa, an automobile pioneer’s Xanadu

Though perhaps not exactly in-line with the Ministry of Culture’s Ontario Heritage Tool Kit procedures or the guidelines set forth in the Burra Charter, these temporary masonry repairs in Bocchignano, Italy are a series of wonderfully playful gestures.

photographs via Jan Vormann

ps: How do you write a spec for Lego?

Buffalo photographer Chris Mottalini has produced an astoundingly beautiful and poignant set of images from now-demolished Paul Rudolph homes in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Florida. The images speak for themselves:

In Chris’ own words:

My intent was to pay homage to Paul Rudolph and his work, as well as the more abstract and elusive qualities of architecture - decay, destruction, loss, and fragility.

Many more images from the project can be found at Chris Mottalini’s website.

ERA is currently studying the above house by Grant Whatmough, designed for Canadian Homes and Gardens managing editor Gerald Maccabe in 1956.  The Maccabe house is an example of the many early modernist ‘gems’ which are only now being rediscovered in the suburbs around the Greater Toronto Area.

Born in Toronto, Whatmough served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and studied in England after the war.  Upon graduation he practiced in Portsmouth as a Naval Architect, before returning to work in Canada. His career as a designer combined interests in technical innovations and modern aesthetics with a practicability that allowed him to execute a wide range of design and construction projects.

From 1953 onward Whatmough worked independently as an Architect in Ontario. His focus was on suburban and estate homes, though he also completed a number of commercial projects. Not satisfied with established building contractors, Whatmough also founded a small construction company to execute his commissions. He revisited his earlier interest in marine design in completing a floating offshore drilling rig, tug and fire boats, and a research vessel for Radar Explorations Limited of Toronto. Commercial projects included industrial plants in Oakville, Port Credit and Islington, studios for an Oakville radio station and alterations to retail stores.

Available records show that Whatmough’s commissions focused in the areas of Oakville, Burlington, and Milton. He also designed a number of commercial buildings in Toronto. However, more research is required to establish a complete record of his career.

In honour of Whatmough, this week at ERA our Friday afternoon social hour became Friday afternoon at the movies: we watched an episode of the 1957 CBC program Open House that George had unearthed from the CBC Archives.  The show featured interviews with three of Whatmough’s clients, including the Maccabes, and tours of three of his houses. It also included the mandatory posed, awkward shots of the architect in his studio, redrawing existing lines (with OAA certification propped conveniently on the drafting table) and leaning down to consider a model of his own work.

Favorite line from the episode:  “Your pool is very inviting Jim, but so is your wife’s tea.”

Two other houses designed by Whatmough can be found near the Maccabe House, on Argyle and Barrington streets. The house on Argyle Drive, which looks on to Lake Ontario, was designed for Jim Floyd - lead designer of the (in)famously abandoned Avro Arrow.

Construction and conservation work are ongoing down at the Evergreen Brick Works, and the project has recently been attracting a good deal of attention. The Toronto Star reports today that National Geographic Traveler named Evergreen Brick Works a Top 10 destination for sustainable travel, and ERA was present for the recent royal site visit from HRH The Prince of Wales.

The Prince gives the Brick Works Farmers’ Market produce the Royal review.

ERA is currently working to stabilize the south east corner of Building 11, which will be adjacent to the new site entrance and welcome centre.

Building 11, as it currently stands

The floors between building 14 and 15 have been excavated and prep work is underway for the new greenways.

ERA is also working with Shawn Selway, of Pragmata Historic Machinery Conservation, to develop a conservation strategy and interpretation of the Martin A. Brick Machine.

The Martin A. Brick Press

Work is ongoing, so check back soon for further updates…

We often talk about density in terms of numerical ratios, or other quantitative abstractions. Our intention here is to try and map the spatial experience of specific densities to their numerical signifiers, and then relate these examples directly to similar conditions in Toronto.

Continue reading the full post below for expanded versions of the neighbourhood and density studies shown at the COMMUNITY CENTRED exhibition.

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and photographs from the next morning, with a few less people:

Density is one of the key tools currently used for planning cities. Architects, planners, and policy makers all use density as a calibration of the city.

We want to make our cities better, more vital, more full of possibilities. As our cities change, we want to propose change intelligently. To change intelligently, we need to understand density.

For the ERA installation at the Harbourfront Centre, as part of the COMMUNITY CENTRED exhibition, we asked our office to contribute examples of places they had recently visited. How did density affect built form? How did density affect the quality of the environment?

We often discuss density in terms of numerical ratios, or other quantitative abstractions. Our intention with this installation is to try and map the spatial experience of specific densities to their numerical signifiers, as free of imported bias (culture, context, etc) as possible.

By assembling this information we are now able to consider: how do Toronto’s neighbourhoods compare?

Please join us for the opening reception:

Friday January 22, 2010
6:00 to 10:00pm

York Quay Centre
235 Queens Quay West

Many hands working many long hours to get everything ready for the upcoming density installation at the Harbourfront Centre… hope you can join us for the opening on Friday - details above!

Architectural Conservancy of Ont.
Archives of Ontario
Canadian Architect and Builder (1888-1908)
Canadian Architect magazine
Doors Open Toronto
Heritage Toronto
Ontario Heritage
Ontario Heritage Trust
Spacing magazine
Spacing Toronto blog
Toronto Archives
Toronto Heritage Preservation
Toronto Public Library
Toronto Society of Architects

info@era.on.ca

Copyright © 2010 ERA Architects Inc.