The Globe and Mail

They resemble buildings turned inside out and would probably look more appropriate on the set of a disaster movie than in an urban habitat. In fact, the walls covered by scaffolding at 297 Victoria St. on the Ryerson campus and on the east side of Church Street just north of Queen Street are the remaining façades of recently destroyed structures. The walls represent a controversial form of architectural trompe l'oeil: façadism, the preservation of a heritage property's single face rather than the whole structure. Both façades exist in part because of Michael McClelland, one of the city's most prominent heritage architects and a principal partner at ERA Architects Inc., known for its award-winning projects, including the Distillery District and the Carlu ballroom.