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The 50th annual Heritage Toronto Awards took place yesterday at The Carlu, marking a milestone year for the city’s leading celebration of heritage conservation and storytelling. Presented before a full audience that included Mayor Olivia Chow, the ceremony recognized seven winners from over 60 nominees across Book, Public History, and Built Heritage categories, a People’s Choice Award, and a Special Achievement Award. The evening highlighted the growing role of heritage in shaping Toronto’s cultural identity and urban development, with three standout projects awarded in the Built Heritage category.
To read about all of the winners, you can visit Heritage Toronto's site at this link. Our focus here will highlight the awards related to architecure.
2025 Special Achievement Award
Architect and author Micheal McClelland, a founding partner in 1990 of ERA Architects with Edwin Rowse, was honoured with a rare Special Achievement Award by the Board of Heritage Toronto. The firm is now Canada's leading firm dedicated to heritage architectural work, with 130 staff across the country. McClelland was singled out for his approach to "a vision of conservation that adapts buildings for contemporary life while preserving their stories. His work champions not only iconic landmarks but also the everyday and modernist buildings that define Toronto’s identity." All three of Heritage Toronto's architectural award winners this year, below, include work by ERA Architects.
The Adaptive Reuse Award: The FitzGerald Building, University of Toronto
Completed in 1927 as a Georgian Revival-style laboratory and research facility, the FitzGerald Building at the University of Toronto is closely tied to the city’s medical history, having produced insulin until 1969. Its recent transformation earned it the Adaptive Reuse Award, recognizing a project that retains the building’s historic character while accommodating new institutional needs. The comprehensive renovation preserved the exterior and select interiors, including the office and library of Dr FitzGerald, while reconfiguring the structure as a central administrative hub to consolidate functions once spread across multiple university sites.
The redesign, by RDH Architects, the Office of Metropolitan Architecture, and ERA Architects, introduced a new College Street entrance linked with the original Taddle Creek entry, a rooftop extension and terrace, and the enclosure of the south courtyard, creating an interconnected interior anchored by an open atrium.
The Heritage Planning & Architecture Award: 2 Queen Street West
Rising at the northwest corner of Yonge and Queen, 2 Queen Street West has been restored as one of Toronto’s most prominent late-19th-century commercial buildings. Originally constructed in 1896 in the Renaissance Revival style, the Philip Jamieson Building had endured decades of alterations that obscured its distinctive curved facade. The Heritage Planning & Architecture Award honours its careful renewal, which re-established the four-storey structure while introducing a recessed, three-storey glass addition.
The restoration was carried out by Zeidler Architecture and ERA Architects for Cadillac Fairview, with work relying on the reproduction of more than 40,000 bricks, stone, and terra cotta pieces. The curved glass expansion echoes the building’s signature corner while providing flexible space for retail, office, and hospitality uses.
The Crafts and Trades Award: Deer Park Church
Standing on St Clair Avenue West since 1912, a remaining portion of the former Deer Park Presbyterian Church has been reimagined as a hospitality and event venue. It had been vacant since its deconsecration in 2008, and was partially demolished in 2017 to enable adjacent redevelopment, leaving the remaining portion subject to extensive conservation. The Crafts and Trades Award recognizes the project’s detailed restoration work, which preserved the stone and terra cotta exterior, replaced slate and copper roofing, and revived original stained glass, lighting, and wood finishes.
Behind its facade, a portion of the sanctuary was converted into an open-air courtyard framed by original stone walls and glass enclosures, linking the historic structure to contemporary uses. Diamond Schmitt and ERA Architects worked with HRI Group for Camrost-Felcorp and The Imperial to deliver the complex rehabilitation.
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| Related Companies: | BESI - Building Envelope Systems Installations, ERA Architects, LiveRoof Ontario Inc, Walters Group |
