[5] At the time Marani frequented the Diet Kitchen Tea Room at 72 Bloor Street West, which was a gathering place for young architects such as John M. Lyle, Alvan Mathers, Eric Haldenby, Eric Arthur and others who sought to “raise appreciation for Canadian design and allied arts.”[6] The group was informally dubbed “The Diet Kitchen School of Architecture,” and many of its members would go on to design landmark buildings in Canada.

[8] Over 75 years later, a plaque was affixed to its face by Heritage Toronto reading, “Designed in a Georgian-influenced style by Marani, Lawson and Paisley, Architects, it exhibits high-quality materials and craftsmanship, particularly in its stone detailing and main lobby.”[9] By 1930 the practice had become Marani, Lawson & Morris, and was responsible for The North American Life Assurance Company headquarters at King and University Streets.

[8] A 1932 article published in Construction described the seven-storey Art Deco building as “an edifice of real distinction, its simplicity of design and reversion to clean lines being somewhat in contrast to the earlier home of the company.”[10] In the 1940s, all three partners left the practice to support the war.

The Bank of Canada building at 250 University Avenue in Toronto, completed in 1958, exemplifies Classical Modernism, a moderate approach to the movement that appealed to the practice’s corporate clients.

[14] Sharp’s first project at RDH Architects, the renovation of the historic Bloor/Gladstone District Library in 2010, marked a significant turning point for the reputation of the firm.