Teaser Video

The Freezeway concept was developed in 2013 by Matt Gibbs as his landscape architecture Master's thesis. The project explored how to create a thriving outdoor civic culture in city that is on average below freezing for 5 months a year. In 2013, the proposal won the top prize in the COLDSCAPES' international urban design competition. From there it was presented at the Winter Cities Shake-Up Conference, following the event the project was featured in publications by: Wired and Fast Company magazine, CBC National Radio, World Architecture News, and the BBC, helping to put Edmonton on the map as an innovative winter destination.

The Freezeway's vision is to create an iconic and vibrant city that forges its identity from embracing its climatic setting.

Utilizing Edmonton's uniquely cold climate, the Freezeway uses a climate adaptive approach to address the way we live, and the way we move in a winter city. Moreover, it aspires to create communities and a culture that longs for the winter season with excitement and anticipation.

Celebrating the magnificence of the winter season in the urban environment, the 11km year-round greenway, combats the typical sedentary nature of the season by creating a winter skating lane that allows you to skate to work, the Oilers arena, or simply just to have fun. It is an urban design intervention that at its heart address the need to promote:

1. - winter programming
2. - active lifestyles
3. - sustainable forms of transportation
4. - social activity
5. - an iconic identity.

Furthermore in a changing climate, land-based skating (vs pond-based), is more resilient in an unpredictable climate. With a thinner ice surface required, as soon as it's cold enough, the ice it can be up and running. The Freezeway, creating a refreshing and warming new approach to living in a cold climate. 

Lets make it happen!