5468796 Architecture's Railside Development Anchors Winnipeg's Forks

Construction is underway on Railside, a pedestrian-oriented community on the final four-and-a-half undeveloped hectares of Winnipeg's Forks, designed by local firm 5468796 Architecture. The first phase comprises 10 mid-rise buildings with ground-floor retail, commercial and hospitality spaces, plus public squares and shared alleyways; over 1,200 mixed-income units are planned across the site, which sits where two parking lots once stood. The scheme's short blocks, curbless edges and narrow rights-of-way draw on walkable-city precedents. 5468796, co-founded by Sasa Radulovic and Johanna Hurme, has projects from Victoria to Halifax, but its base remains Winnipeg, where its portfolio includes 62M, the Cube (Old Market Square Stage) and the James Avenue Pumphouse. Colin Neufeld is the firm's third partner; the 25-person studio works at a single long table. Recent residential work includes 90 and 100 Alexander Avenue, a 206-unit complex wrapping a seven-storey black sheet-metal new build around a restored brick-and-stone warehouse, sharing circulation and an exterior stair. In 2024 the firm launched Shared Ground with Scatliff + Miller + Murray and Relèven, an applied research initiative helping non-profits develop affordable housing; six Winnipeg pilots are advancing to schematic design. Hurme became RAIC President in June.