Nitheesh Johnrose Rema Devi

Corridors of Comfort
Designing a Liveable Environment in Downtown Winnipeg

This thesis examines how everyday city spaces can better support people as they move between multiple roles in contemporary life. In many cities, boundaries between work, home, and personal time have blurred; long hours, constant digital connection, and economic pressure keep people “on,” leaving little time for rest, reflection, or casual social contact.¹  While experiences vary, the streets, corridors, thresholds, and small urban pockets people traverse daily strongly shape how these transitions feel.

The project explores how ordinary public spaces can be reworked with climate-responsive, human-scale design to create brief moments of pause, comfort, and casual connection within existing routines.²  Rather than relying on new buildings or large, heavily programmed spaces, it focuses on subtle, context-specific changes that respond to behavior, local climate, and movement patterns. Precedents such as the High Line, Seoullo 7017, Superkilen, and the Rail Park show how connective corridors can support restoration and social life.³  , while The Well in Toronto⁴  and historic European passages⁵, demonstrate how partially enclosed, sheltered environments can sustain year-round public activity through careful use of enclosure, shade, and wind control.

Graham Avenue in downtown Winnipeg is used as a test site. The corridor serves diverse users but its comfort and use are limited for much of the year by climate, street geometry, and adjacent buildings, even as downtown shifts toward more people-focused public space.⁶ The project maps how people move and gather, then selects sites based on both microclimate potential and existing indoor programs, treating surrounding buildings as anchors whose activities “spill out” into adjacent outdoor spaces.

The design proposes a sequence of passively tempered microclimates formed by light enclosures, canopies, wind buffers, planting, and sheltered seating linked to institutions such as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Millennium Library, and a new mixed-use development. Together, these elements act as open-air climate refugees that soften extreme weather and slow the pace of movement. By redefining Graham Avenue as an adaptable public environment rather than a mere route, the thesis argues that small, well-placed interventions can enhance everyday experience, support mental well-being, strengthen social inclusion, and foster a more humane daily rhythm in the city.⁷

^{1. Helen Pluut, "Not Able to Lead a Healthy Life When You Need It the Most: Dual Role of Lifestyle Behaviors in the Association of Blurred Work-Life Boundaries with Well-Being," Frontiers in Psychology 11 (December 2020): 607294, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.607294; Gemma Bondanini et al., "The Dual Impact of Digital Connectivity: Balancing Productivity and Well-Being in the Modern Workplace," Behavioral Sciences 15, no. 5 (May 2025): 571, https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050571.}

^{2. Health Council of Canada, "How Urban Public Spaces Are Transforming Canadian Mental Health," March 28, 2025, https://www.healthcouncilcanada.ca/how-urban-public-spaces-are-transforming-canadian-mental-health/; UN-Habitat, Healthier Cities and Communities Through Public Spaces (Nairobi: UN-Habitat, January 2025), https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2025/01/final_public_space_and_urban_health.pdf.}

^{3. Diller Scofidio + Renfro and James Corner Field Operations, "High Line," accessed December 14, 2025, https://dsrny.com/project/the-high-line; MVRDV, "Seoullo 7017 Seoul Skygarden," accessed December 14, 2025, https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/23/seoullo-7017; BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, Topotek1, and Superflex, "Superkilen," accessed December 14, 2025, https://big.dk/projects/superkilen; Friends of the Rail Park, "The Rail Park," accessed December 14, 2025, https://therailpark.org.}

^{4. Allied Properties REIT and RioCan REIT, "The Well," accessed December 14, 2025, https://thewelltoronto.ca.}

^{5. Johann Friedrich Geist, Arcades: The History of a Building Type (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1983).}

^{6. Environment and Climate Change Canada, "Geography and Climate of Winnipeg," accessed December 14, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_and_climate_of_Winnipeg. Mean January temperature is −16.4 °C, and mean July temperature is 19.7 °C. Average annual precipitation is 521.1 mm with snow falling on 53 days and lying on 132 days in an average year.}

^{7. Homa Hematian et al., "Evaluating Urban Public Spaces from Mental Health Point of View: Comparing Pedestrian and Vehicular-Dominant Spaces," Journal of Transport & Health 27 (December 2022): 101502, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2022.101502.}