Both touted and derided as Canada’s answer to Times Square, downtown Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square — soon to be renamed Sankofa Square — is a perpetual locus of activity. Alongside throngs of tourists, protesters, hot dog vendors, shoppers and pamphleteers, solicitations ranging from three card monte to eternal salvation animate a frenetic din. It’s an ambiance that often spills into sensory overload, and one in which the surrounding urban fabric all but disappears into a blurred background.
Like its New York counterpart, it’s a space that some locals studiously avoid. They might be missing out. Past the crowds and selfies, the buzzing context gives way to a quiet yet significant pocket of historic architecture. On the south side of the square, the Hermant Building’s two handsome art deco volumes date to 1913 and 1929. Although much taller glass and steel towers now dominate the skyline, the complex was among the city’s early height peaks — and architectural showpieces. Long before the bustling civic square (which opened in 2002) came to dominate the local spotlight, a series of renovations also altered the building’s heritage, gradually eroding its civic presence. As early as 1935, a sumptuous bronze entryway was replaced with a prosaic aluminum-frame door, while the façades of both volumes suffered similarly value-engineered retrofits, and the original interiors were buried under a messy palimpsest of tenant fit-outs and renovations.
In recent years, however, the Hermant Building’s fortunes have gradually turned. Immediately south of the complex, HNR Properties added a 40-storey tower (designed by Diamond Schmitt and Arcadis) to the site in 2017, with a restoration of the older buildings undertaken as part of a large-scale redevelopment process that started in 2005. Led by heritage specialists ERA Architects, the conversation process saw the façades and ground floor volumes restored to an elegant and urbane condition.
Designed by Bond & Smith Architects, the 10-storey 1913 volume at 19 Dundas Square was briefly the tallest building in the city. Commissioned by Russian-born entrepreneur and philanthropist Percy Hermant, the structure was built to house the headquarters of Hermant’s Imperial Optical, a firm that pioneered — and then dominated — the Canadian prescription lens market in the early decades of the 20th century. Throughout the 20th century however, the tower’s stately, intricately detailed terracotta face gradually faded with soot and grime, while the forest green window assembly was replaced with more generic commercial fenestration. In 2014, ERA unveiled a sensitive restoration of the frontage, returning the white-glazed terracotta details and art deco windows to their original lustre.
A year later, the heritage architects wrapped up work on the adjoining volume. Situated at the corner of Dundas Square and Victoria Street, the 15-storey tower was designed by Benjamin Brown, Toronto’s first practicing Jewish architect. By the time the buff brick landmark was completed in 1929, Hermant — himself a prominent member of the local Jewish community — was among the largest eyewear magnates in the British Commonwealth. Alongside an expanded headquarters for Imperial Optical, 21 Dundas Square also eventually housed Brown’s own office in the 1940s. Here, ERA and specialty fabricators Heather & Little skillfully recreated the original bronze door and lobby, in addition to deftly revamped retail spaces and an inviting new ground floor lighting program.
As the exterior and lobby renovations re-introduced the Hermant Building to Toronto, local heritage practice Giaimo gradually set out revitalizing the interiors. Beginning in 2015, the architects renovated over 8,350 square metres of interior spaces across both volumes, peeling back what the design team describes as “decades of accumulating layers of materials and finishes,” which made for an “outdated and overcrowded lacklustre space.” The goal was not to restore the interiors to a facsimile of their original state, but to create functional, adaptable spaces that meet contemporary needs and facilitate future fit-outs, all while showing sympathy to the heritage architecture.
Throughout the complex, gypsum drop ceilings and bulky — often redundant — piping and HVAC equipment lowered the ceilings through layers of additions, while the concrete and terrazzo floors were similarly covered up by numerous renovations. The Giaimo team carefully stripped back decades of additions, exposing raw concrete and remnants of original finishes. In the few places where original plaster work, terrazzo and window sills remained, the features were carefully preserved. Otherwise, the interior was stripped back to its board-formed concrete guts, with the simple finishes and polished concrete floors making for more airy, breathable, and adaptable spaces.
Guided by an intuitively light touch and an economy of means, the renovation process also introduced a streamlined HVAC system, preserving a more open ambiance. In a heritage building where floor plates are significantly more compact than contemporary office towers, the interior restoration maximized usable floor area, while also establishing a framework for future alterations. “By using BIM in coordination with all consultants, the process allows for the client to use the models for future maintenance and operations,” notes the Giaimo team. “Additionally, we designed tenant controls and leasing guidelines, to help simplify building maintenance and reduce waste that accumulates from years of tenant fit-outs.”
In lieu of an entirely new aesthetic language or a simulacrum of century-old aesthetics, the redevelopment was rooted in an understanding of architecture as an ongoing process. “The design process was not about claiming authorship, but about continuity and ensuring the building remains active for another 100 years,” notes Giaimo. “This building transformation recognizes that the project doesn’t end; it will continue on through maintenance, disrepair, and new tenants.” Like the lively and chaotic public space at its doorstep, the Hermant Building is a living document. And while the civic square seems to evolve by the minute, the architectural transformation is measured in centuries.
On the heels of an exterior and ground level restoration by ERA, Giaimo deftly updates a historic skyscraper’s interiors for the century ahead.