The Covered Connection
This pattern is shaped by
Problem
In cold climates, the distance between buildings — even short distances — becomes a barrier for five months of the year. The twenty-step walk from house to shed, the path to the greenhouse, the lane to the neighbor's door — all become ordeals when it's -30°C with wind.
Evidence and Discussion
Nordic and Japanese cold-climate traditions are rich with covered connections: the Swedish gångbro (covered walkway between farmstead buildings), the Japanese engawa (covered veranda), and the Canadian breezeway all solve the same problem. The connection doesn't need to be heated — just covered and wind-protected. Even an unheated covered passage reduces the perceived barrier dramatically.
Therefore
between any two buildings that are used daily (house and shed, house and greenhouse, house and garage), provide a covered, wind-protected connection. This can be a covered walkway, a breezeway, a pergola with a roof, or a glass-enclosed passage. It doesn't need to be heated, but it needs a roof and at least one solid wall on the windward side. The connection turns a twenty-step ordeal into a twenty-step stroll.