5. DTAH Architects - 50 Park Road

Toronto and Ontario experienced a massive boom after World War II with returning veterans and their families needing housing, the economy at full power and immigration starting to rapidly grow the country. Though sometimes known as a city of Victorian architecture, this boom meant that Toronto saw an incredible amount of mid-century modern building take place.

Nestled into the side of the Rosedale valley wall here is the former Ontario Association of Architects headquarters, currently the home of DTAH, an architecture, landscape and urban design firm. Designed by the modernist firm John B Parkin and Associates and opened in 1954, the same year the nearby subway was completed, it’s a bold statement from the era of bold modernism and representative of the optimism of the day. This building was most certainly influenced by the Bauhaus school in Germany, as was the apartment building next door with its glass wall and functional design.

Walking up Park Road, the transition from lush valley lands to a busy urban landscape is one of the most dramatic and abrupt changes in the city.