Sharon Hong

Nominee for an ACO Public Education and Engagement Award

As an architectural designer and heritage planner, Sharon Hong understands heritage as more than old buildings — she sees it as the living heart of Ontario’s communities. Sharon has a rare ability to connect technical preservation with community‑driven storytelling, and she consistently goes beyond her professional role to support inclusive, culturally grounded heritage work.

Sharon is a Senior Associate at ERA Architects, with more than 15 years of experience in planning and heritage conservation. Her work focuses on community‑based methodologies, narrative analysis of place, and inclusive approaches to understanding how neighbourhoods evolve over time.

One of the strongest examples of her commitment to cultural preservation is her contribution to Chinatown Tomorrow / 明日唐人街, a major community‑engagement and planning initiative in Toronto’s Chinatown West. As part of the project team, Sharon helped support a year‑long consultation process involving multi‑generational residents, business owners, cultural organizations, and students. This work strengthened local capacity for cultural mapping, storytelling, and heritage advocacy, ensuring that community voices shaped the future vision for the neighbourhood.

Sharon has also contributed to heritage documentation efforts involving Chinese‑Canadian cultural sites, including projects connected to Scarborough’s historic Dragon Centre, one of North America’s first indoor Chinese malls and an important landmark of immigrant architectural history. Her work helps ensure that modern immigrant-built environments receive the same respect and attention as older, colonial-era structures.

Sharon brings a thoughtful blend of technical skill, cultural sensitivity, and deep empathy to every project. Through her leadership in community‑centered heritage practices, she is helping shape a more inclusive future for heritage conservation in Ontario. She fully deserves this recognition.