Concrete Ideas
The book Concrete Ideas: Material to Shape a City was launched in January, 2012. The volume includes exploratory design work by ERA’s Jessie Grebenc, as well as a pair of articles by Graeme Stewart focused on Tower Renewal; one examining the state of concrete tower blocks internationally and the other exploring their potential architectural and urban futures in the Toronto context. Congratulations to Pina and the publication team on a wonderful and beautiful book. Concrete Ideas: Material to Shape a City will be available for order online at Amazon.ca soon. For more on concrete, Concrete Toronto can be found here. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by Graeme Stewart on January 31, 2012 | Permalink | No Comments » One Millionth Tower Launch, Azure Best of 2011, and Invading the TTC
It’s been a busy month for the One Millionth Tower. First launched in Toronto at the Kipling Towers in early December, the project premiered to the City at large at a packed Gladstone Hotel later that week. Following presentations of the films and panel discussion, the evening highlight was a solo performance by Kipling resident and 1MT performer Jamal. An article on the event by Marcus Gee in the Globe and Mail can be found here. In late December AZURE magazine named the One Millionth Tower one of their seven favourite things of 2011.
Images courtesy of The National Film Board of Canada And in January 2012 the One Millionth Tower will be flooding the TTC, with billboards and video clips found at a platform near you. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by Graeme Stewart on January 3, 2012 | Permalink | No Comments » NFB’s One Millionth Tower
For over a year, ERA and the Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal (CUG+R) have been working with the NFB on their remarkable HIGHRISE documentary series directed by Kat Cizek. The series examines the current conditions and future potential of post-war high-rise living around the world. Features have included the One Thousandth Tower, Out My Window, and most recently the One Millionth Tower.
Above images by ERA and NFB with top right photograph by Jaime Hogge, courtesy of The National Film Board of Canada F0r the One Millionth Tower, the team worked with residents of the Kipling Towers Neighbourhood in North West Toronto, to understand the opportunities and challenges of the neighbourhood, and to dream big about the neighbourhood’s future. These ideas were then interpreted and brought to life by animators, web designers and the residents themselves. The project includes a series of documentaries including the main feature - an experimental interactive documentary, as well as “Imagine“, documenting the collaborative production process, and “Living Proof“, showcasing international examples of Tower Renewal that ERA and CUG+R have toured over the years. These docs can be viewed below: IMAGINE: LIVING PROOF: [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by Graeme Stewart on November 10, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » Neighbourhood Renewal in APT International
An article examining the development and progress of Tower Renewal can be found in the summer edition of the International Journal for the Association for Preservation Technology (APT). From the introduction:
The full article can be downloaded here. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by admin on November 3, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » North York Modern in the Standard
The Toronto Standard discusses North York’s emergence as a ‘modernist heritage hub.’ To view the full article click here. Take a look at our previous post + full publication of ‘North York’s Modernist Architecture Revisited’ by ERA here. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by admin on November 3, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » East Scarborough Storefront
Community Design – Image courtesy of Expect Theatre / Spark Productions The East Scarborough Storefront is a community agency offering multiple services in a tower neighbourhood in East Scarborough. Containing a community kitchen and garden, market, resource centre and access point to over 50 different agencies such as job search support and literacy service, the East Scarbourough Storefront is a significant asset to Toronto. To expand its reach, the Storefront is currently undergoing a long term community lead expansion and revitalization strategy. Over the past several years, ERA has been aiding the Storefront in this process, in collaboration with Sustainable.TO, ArchiTEXT, LoCALe, the Tower Renewal Office at the City of Toronto, and a group of vibrant and active community youth. A recent article in the Summer 2011 issue of Sustainable Builder Magazine showcasing this ongoing work can be found here, or downloaded in PDF format here. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by admin on August 30, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » Kipling Community BuildIn July, ERA got into the building spirit as part of the Tower Renewal project at the Kipling Towers in North Etobicoke. Kipling Towers is one of the City’s great apartment neighbourhoods, with a cluster of nineteen towers perched along the western bank of the Humber River. Previous posts with more information about the neighbourhood can be found here.
ERA has been involved in the neighborhood since 2007 in partnership with the City of Toronto, Jane’s Walk , the National Film Board and the United Way; working with residents to plan a vision for the future. During this period, several workshops have been held with the community, hosted by ERA, the City of Toronto, Jane’s Walk and an ongoing collaborative process with the National Film Board as part of their remarkable HIGHRISE documentary initiative. A recently published report of one such workshop hosted by the City and DIAC in late 2010 can be downloaded here. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by admin on July 31, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » Tower Neighbourhood Renewal Symposium 2011
The second Tower Neighbourhood Renewal symposium, presented by ERA Architects, the University of Toronto Cities Centre, and the Tower Renewal Office, was held in May 2011, in conjunction with the annual Toronto the Good party. The symposium featured a broad range of international and local speakers, a panel discussion and a poster expo that continued into the party. The following post outlines the day’s events, and provides links to download much of the presented material. The aim of the symposium was to showcase the wide range of research and initiatives currently taking place, and create a forum for the communication of ideas between the groups as the initiative moves forward. The symposium was a rousing success, attracting the attention of not just professionals from the field, but the public at large, with the event filled to capacity, and over 100 people listening from outside – our apologies. The Speakers:
[ Leave A Comment ] Posted by admin on July 31, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » Neighbourhood Change
As a follow up to the release of last year’s Three Cities Within Toronto, the University of Toronto Cities Centre, St. Christopher House, and the CURA Network have launched the website “Neighbourhood Change: Building Inclusive Communities from Within,” as well as the new report: “Toronto’s Inner Suburbs: Investing in Social Capital in Scarborough“. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by admin on July 8, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » Design Research: Mixed-Use Growth – Update
This Option Studio focused on a site at Sheppard and Don Mills, typical of Toronto’s inner suburbs, with its distinctive clusters of high-rise residential buildings erected in the period of the 1950’s through the 1970’s. The goal of this studio was to investigate the potential of apartment tower sites to emerge as more liveable and sustainable communities, with a specific emphasis on built form. For more information on the site please see our previous post on the studio. The studio operated under the assumption that existing buildings on site would be retrofit in accordance with previous tower renewal propositions. As such the focus of the studio shifted to re-conceptualizations of site planning, and to the design of new buildings erected on site, thereby increasing both the population density and availability of services and amenities. The project brief was ambitious in calling for the addition of over 1000 new housing units, as well as increased community services, shops and family amenities within the existing property boundaries. Scheme proposed by Brendan Whitsitt.
Scheme proposed by Stephen Ng. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by Graeme Stewart on June 23, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » Learning from EuropeOver the past several years, the Tower Renewal team at ERA and CUG+R have conducted a series of study tours throughout the European Union, visiting numerous cities and neighbourhoods, and meeting with local experts to learn about best practices in tower refurbishment and neighbourhood revitalization. Many of these findings have been compiled in the report Tower Neighbourhood Renewal in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, and its accompanying International Best Practice Research Highlight.
This past weekend, The Toronto Star featured highlights of this research as part of an ongoing series looking into the future opportunities of Toronto Community Housing. Featured in the article are selected best practices found throughout the EU related to social housing. These include: [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by Graeme Stewart on June 22, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » Toronto the Good & Tower Renewal Symposium
Cities Centre, ERA Architects and the City of Toronto Tower Renewal Office are hosting the second Tower Neighbourhood Renewal Symposium on May 12, 2011 from 1- 5pm at U of T’s Hart House. The Symposium is being held in conjunction with the annual Toronto the Good Party, which will begin immediately following the symposium. The second symposium will consist of a plenary session with international and local speakers, a panel discussion and a poster expo in the Great Hall showcasing regional Tower Renewal projects and research. The aim of the symposium is to showcase the wide range of research and initiatives related to Tower Renewal in a visual format, and provide a venue for those engaged in these initiatives to network, compare notes, and collaborate. International speakers will include Peter Head, Chairmen of Global Planning for Arup, and Prof. Frank Wassenberg, a Senior Researcher with TU Delft and the Hague’s Nicis Institute in the Netherlands. Headquartered in London, Peter Head leads regional sustainability projects throughout the world, and has lent his expertise to Toronto’s Tower Renewal Project. Prof. Wassenberg is an expert in urban renewal and governance, with specific expertise in the large Tower Renewal initiative in Amsterdam’s Bijlmermeer Neighbourhood. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by Graeme Stewart on May 10, 2011 | Permalink | 1 Comment » Toronto Standard Q&A
The Toronto Standard launched this week with a Q&A with ERA’s Graeme Stewart, covering the Tower Neighbourhood Renewal initiative, Concrete Toronto, and the city in general. The article can be found here. The Toronto Standard is a daily digital briefing on the life of the city, covering urban affairs, business, technology, culture and design — and all the sparks that happen in between. For more information visit www.torontostandard.com [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by admin on April 6, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » How Many Towers in Your Ward?
Towers x Wards. Ward number (blue), Number of Towers 5 – 50 storeys (in red box). The Greater Toronto Region contains 1,925 post-war Apartment Towers of eight to fifty storeys, as well as an additional 1,155 post-war apartments five to seven storeys, totalling 3,080 high-rise apartments built in the post-war boom. This remarkable number of buildings in the region is divided among its various municipalities. The majority, roughly 60%, are located in the City of Toronto, with other large clusters in Peel and Hamilton, and to a lesser degree, Kitchener – Waterloo, Oakville, Guelph, Burlington, and other municipalities throughout the region. In Toronto, this large number is subject to another layer of division, not of municipal boundary, but rather Ward boundaries. To better understand the relationship of Ward boundaries to Toronto’s post-war towers, a series of maps were created. These maps look at Wards by the number of towers eight to fifty storeys, five to fifty storeys, as well as examining the relationship between large groupings of towers, known as tower clusters, and Ward boundaries. Continue Reading This Post [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by Graeme Stewart on February 27, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » 2011 Civic Action Summit
In February 10th and 11th, 2011, the Civic Action Summit assembled over one thousand civic leaders from Greater Toronto to discuss the future of the city reigon. Topics ranged from Arts and Culture, to Transportation, to Sustainability. ERA actively participated in the planning and organizing of discussions related to housing and complete neighbourhoods – particularly how these broader themes intersected with the opportunities of Tower Neighbourhood Renewal, and complete and livable communities in general. A key output has been the publication of the draft Regional Housing Data Bank, a project lead by the City of Toronto’s Nicole Stewart, and can be downloaded here. Findings and proceedings of the Summit will be released in the weeks to come and will be available at www.civicaction.ca. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by Graeme Stewart on February 12, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » The Three Cities Within Toronto
In late 2010, David Hulchanski published The Three Cities Within Toronto, a research update of his pioneering work related to income polarization in the city of Toronto. This work outlines the ‘Three’ Cities within Toronto’: City Number One of growing wealth; City Number Three of growing poverty, and City Number Two, the middle income city, which is gradually shrinking. Published in partnership with the University of Toronto Cities Centre, St. Christopher House, and the CURA Network, the book provides new projections based on the latest census data, and brings the analysis outside of the borders of Toronto to the wider region. The book also provides a more detail breakdown of areas of increasing poverty, including Apartment Neighbourhoods. (A previous post related to Tower Renewal and Three Cities can be found here). [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by Graeme Stewart on February 7, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » Design Research: Mixed-Use Growth
In fall 2010, Dean Emeritus George Baird and Graeme Stewart of ERA, conducted an architectural design studio at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, exploring the potential for mixed-use growth in one of the Toronto’s Region’s many post-war Apartment Neighbourhoods. The studio focused on one of the largest opportunities of Tower Neighbourhood Renewal: mixed-use growth within a large cluster of existing post-war Apartment Towers. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by Graeme Stewart on January 23, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » United Way Report Released _ Vertical PovertyThe United Way released the Vertical Poverty report today, outlining the current state of apartment – tower living in the GTA. The report’s finding are based on several thousand interviews with tower residents, and contains important recommendations to improve the livability of apartment neighbourhoods. These findings and recommendations complement those found in Tower Neighbourhood Renewal in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, released in late 2010 and prepared by ERA and planningAlliance for the Government of Ontario. ERA participated in the United Way report as peer reviewer. Similarly, the tower research team at the United Way was a peer reviewer for ERA and planningAlliance’s recent study. Visit the Vertical Poverty website, where you can download the full report and/or the executive summary in PDF format. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by admin on January 12, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments » Tower Neighbourhood Renewal in the Greater Golden Horseshoe
Tower Neighbourhood Renewal in the Greater Golden Horseshoe available here for download. The Greater Golden Horseshoe is unique globally for its pattern of urbanization due to the proliferation of post-war apartment towers throughout the region. In 2009 the government of Ontario’s Growth Secretariat enlisted ERA Architects and planningAlliance (the founding partners of the not for profit research organization CUG+R) as well as the Cities Centre at the University of Toronto, to analyze this housing resource, and examine its future role in our growing region.
[ Leave A Comment ] Posted by Graeme Stewart on December 5, 2010 | Permalink | No Comments » The Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal (CUG+R)
ERA Architects and planningAlliance launch the Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal (CUG+R). CUG+R is a non-profit research organization formed in 2009 to conduct cross-disciplinary research to further knowledge about the creation and renewal of sustainable urban, suburban and rural environments in Canada and elsewhere. CUG+R’s objective is to develop research to enhance public policy and promote private initiatives that foster City Regions and local communities that are: well planned and designed, economically vibrant, socially diverse, culturally integrated and environmentally sustainable. CUG+R officially launched in December 2010 with the release of Tower Neighbourhood Renewal in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, a report jointly repared by CUG+R’s founding partners, ERA Architects and planningAlliance, and the launch of cugr.ca. [ Leave A Comment ] Posted by Graeme Stewart on December 5, 2010 | Permalink | No Comments » |
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