The Winnipeg neighborhood known as Osborne Village boasts a marvelous elixir of mixed demographics, indie businesses, hipster “speakeasies,” walkability, and that elusive attribute that can be described as an edgy vibe. All of this compelled the Canadian Institute of Planners to dub it “Canada’s Greatest Neighbourhood” in 2012. The irony of enclaves like these, though, is that they attract homogeneous new developments that threaten to snuff out the charm that made them desirable in the first place—over the past few years, a smattering of suburban-looking shoebox buildings have crept into this zone of artists’ studios and tattoo parlors. But with the new OZ condominium project, the local firm 5468796 offers an alternative response.

On the corner of River Avenue—the area’s main thoroughfare—and a quieter side street, OZ enriches the densely textured urban fabric with its distinctive, asymmetrically fenestrated form and outdoor spaces carved out of the building’s mass. Named for both the utopian land in the century-old children’s novel as well as its own neighborhood, it is a building that aspires to link its residents to street life and each other.