This practicum explores how design can be used to foster an environment of safety for both an industry and a building, within the deterioration of independently entrenched stigmatization. Bordello is an adaptive reuse of the Woodbine Hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba, into a supportive space for the operations of a cooperative sex work facility.

The methodology of this practicum includes a literature review focusing on the concepts of dignity and empowerment as catalytic agents in the reduction of stigma, followed by a detailed site analysis, relevant precedent studies, and conceptual experimentation. Together, these elements lead to conclusive design strategies that have informed the programming and design of Bordello.

The result is a spatial response whose design promotes safety and respect for sex workers, sex work, and the citizens of Winnipeg through facilitating processes of individual, organizational, and community empowerment, as well as the promotion of dignity within the humanization of space.