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Portage and Main has to be people-friendly
May 1, 2023
Portage and Main is not just an intersection. It’s where we come together in celebration, in protest and in mourning. It has always been seen as the heart of the city, even when hidden behind concrete walls. There is significant irony in the fact that we believe Portage and Main is important enough to invest in a big idea that brings it back to life, but we voted so clearly to say we are not willing to spend a few seconds longer in our cars to accomplish this goal organically, and at low cost.
NEWS
Winter shouldn’t translate to a lower quality of life
April 10, 2023
Falling is the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations in Winnipeg, and more than one-third of the province’s direct health-care costs are accounted for by injuries related to falls.
NEWS
New life breathed into Carnegie Library
March 19, 2023
The City of Winnipeg Archives is finally getting a proper home, after a decade as a nomad in various warehouses across the city. Council is set to approve $12.6 million in funding to transform the Carnegie Library on William Avenue into a state-of-the-art archives facility.
NEWS
Walkable cities become grist for conspiracy mill
February 27, 2023
Being a city planner might sound like a mundane job, plodding through zoning regulations that read like riddles written by Gollum from Lord of the Rings. But it can be a polarizing profession that evokes high emotions from citizens opposing change in their neighbourhood or reacting to the very mention of the words “bike lane.”
NEWS
Reclaiming the spirit of the shopping mall
February 6, 2023
The origin of the North American shopping mall is a story of irony and frustration that sent an architect back to Europe resenting what his idea had become.
NEWS
Arts can lead in downtown renewal
January 16, 2023
When we compete with other cities for tourism, immigration, business investment and even for retention of our own young people, the quality of downtown and its ability to offer an urban lifestyle choice often factors centrally in any success.
NEWS
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign: Using Interior Wayfinding Signage as a Teaching Tool
September 28, 2021
Signage exists everywhere in our world. You see it when you drive down the street, you read it as you walk through malls and airports. It is in our grocery stores, in our workplaces, and it is most definitely in our schools.
NEWS
Retrofitting Makes Room for Residential
June 24, 2021
As architects, designers, and urban planners, building great buildings and communities is what we always strive to do. As we see built structures from our past become abandoned and disused, we are presented with opportunities to reimagine the roles these structures can play in the future of our communities.
NEWS
Zoning affects a city’s social fabric
January 18, 2021
All North American cities use zoning to regulate the development of land and buildings. By assigning properties into different categories of parkland, commercial, residential and industrial uses, zoning establishes the rules for what can and can't be built.