Residents of Toronto know about the rich system of underground pedestrian thoroughfares known as the PATH system, and given the frigid forecast for the week ahead, many will be glad to use it. Even seasoned veterans know how difficult it can be to keep one's bearings in the PATH, though, because there's no correlation between the layout of the subterranean network and what lies above. That's why this proposal to connect the great outdoors with the tunnel system is such a clever idea. The large convex glass "oculi" will afford pedestrians with almost panoramic views of the sights above ground, and should be an effective wayfinding aid. The windows will have the added advantage of throwing a lot of natural light into the PATH. As an experimentalist, I can think of all kinds of nefarious ways to mess with these oculi to test various theories of wayfinding, but I think that would be, um, somewhat counter to the objectives. If these portals to the sky come into existence, it would even be great to do a simple pre-post study to see what effect they have on how well people can find their way. Hmmm. If only there were a psychologist in the building.
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