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Whether referred to as a parking deck, parking structure, parking garage, or car park, this building type is often unfairly typecast as the ugly duckling of the built environment. However, when viewed through an entirely different lens, what once was considered a functional grey box becomes a canvas of endless possibilities that can enhance the overall project.
Positioned at the beginning and end of how users experience your project, garages set the tone for the building types they support. Parking structures can become part of how users experience your project through the integration of art, water features, and even sound. They can welcome and serve as effective wayfinding for an area, especially at night. Their thoughtful integration within even expansion projects can increase convenience for users. Rather than detracting from the buildings they support, they can be seamlessly integrated into the context of their surroundings or even enhance them.
Exploring parking possibilities begins with determining what kind of arrival experience you want your project’s users to have. While a utilitarian approach may suffice, creativity and innovation can elevate and extend the character of your project to the parking.
This was the case with the City of Hope, which envisioned a carefully curated arrival sequence —one that immediately conveyed a “place of great care and great research” and one that begins as patients, visitors, and staff approached the parking structure.
The iconic architecture of the garage both welcomes and delights. Its kinetic façade gently creates varied wave patterns oscillating with the breeze. Inside, the same attention to experience continues through a clear and intuitive flow that minimizes distractions and crossover traffic while promoting clear wayfinding. A green and red-light parking availability guidance system helps drivers quickly locate open spaces, while clear signage and a painted interior support the transition from driver to pedestrian and guide their journey to the adjacent courtyard.
Today’s projects can be complex and are often site-constrained. However, these challenges can fuel parking possibilities that can enhance the user experience. Whether located below ground, above ground, or integrated with other uses, parking structures can provide innovative solutions to complex site challenges rather than serving as a standalone grey box.
Situated on a constrained air rights parcel, the South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center Parking Structure demonstrates how looking at parking differently can lead to value-enhancing solutions. Built above and supported by the active I‑90 interstate tunnel, vehicular and pedestrian bridges span over a live busway. The project transforms a previously inaccessible zone into a multi-modal transportation hub that connects to nearby hotels, offices, the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, and is linked to Logan Airport via the MBTA Silver Line.
As part of the major expansion of the Savannah Georgia Convention Center, more parking was needed to support increased event capacity and visitor demand. Also demonstrating a fresh approach, the solution on the constrained site was to carefully integrate the parking within the overall building mass, which combines assembly, mechanical, and parking occupancies in a highly efficient stacked configuration. This solution greatly improves pedestrian connection and security.
From residential to healthcare, amenities have become value‑driving components of all major built environment projects. Once marketing differentiators, amenities have become long-term performance drivers. When considered during programming, parking structures offer a wide range of programming possibilities for these amenities.
The residential program for Alinari at Rosemary Place includes one-, two-, and three-bedroom residences, as well as penthouses. Its value-enhancing amenities include a club room, screening room, business center, salon, fitness center, and guest suites. Working within a constrained site, a rooftop pool plaza and terrace garden were made possible by using the top deck of the development’s 322-stall garage.
There are endless possibilities for the architectural design of parking structures, from the modern sensibilities of the South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center Parking Structure to designs that blend seamlessly within historically rich environments.
An example of the latter, the University of San Diego’s “16th-century Spanish Renaissance Style” is prevalent throughout their campus architecture. When they needed additional parking, the solution was to nestle a 5½-level parking structure into a hillside site and utilize a precast exterior façade to emulate the campus architecture.
Rather than being considered back-of-house structures, parking garages can play a much more meaningful role when thoughtfully integrated into a project. They can shape the arrival experience, solve complex site problems, unlock valuable programming opportunities, complement their architectural surroundings, and even elevate the overall environment. The key is to move beyond the traditional notion of parking as a stand-alone, solely functional building type and instead recognize its potential to be a meaningful part of the built environment. By exploring these possibilities early and thoughtfully, project teams can transform an everyday necessity into memorable spaces.
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