A new six-story hybrid structure in New Orleans combines a 441-space parking garage with 27,000-sf of street-level retail. Dubbed The Park, the 205,000-sf structure integrates large, pre-manufactured modules to create an aesthetic similar to the 19th century warehouses prevalent in the city’s Warehouse District.
The garage meets the 50% open-air façade requirements for naturally ventilated parking structures and is composed of various widths of solid concrete and open-air gaps to eschew the heavy grid of most garages. The parking garage’s design uses three pre-cast, integrally-colored modules – parapet panels, structural beams, and exterior panels – with five variations for each. The pre-cast panels on the two primary street facades vary in size from 34 feet 10 inches in length to 41 feet in length, and are smooth with strategically placed reveals for an added layer of detail.
Photo: Timothy Hursley.
See Also: Helsinki’s underground art museum opens to the public
The main entrance at the street level switches from the industrial concrete of the arcade and marquee to a natural hardwood screen that aligns with the entry. Steel awnings along Girod Street provide retailers and pedestrians relief from the sun and rain.
Eskew+Dumez+Ripple designed the structure.
Photo: Timothy Hursley.
Related Stories
| Apr 26, 2013
Solving the parking dilemma in U.S. cities
ArchDaily's Rory Stott yesterday posted an interesting exploration of progressive parking strategies being employed by cities and designers. The lack of curbside and lot parking exacerbates traffic congestion, discourages visitors, and leads to increased vehicles emissions.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 22, 2013
Top 10 green building projects for 2013 [slideshow]
The AIA's Committee on the Environment selected its top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
| Apr 19, 2013
7 hip high-rise developments on the drawing board
Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill's whimsical Dancing Dragons tower in Seoul is among the compelling high-rise projects in the works across the globe.
| Apr 17, 2013
Frank Lloyd Wright's Park Avenue showroom demolished
New York loses another architectural gem by Frank Lloyd Wright as new owner razes auto showroom.
| Apr 5, 2013
Commercial greenhouse will top new Whole Foods store in Brooklyn
Whole Foods and partner Gotham Greens will create a 20,000-sf greenhouse atop one of the retailer's Brooklyn supermarkets. Expected to open this fall, the facility will supply produce to nine Whole Foods stores in metro New York City.
| Apr 2, 2013
6 lobby design tips
If you do hotels, schools, student unions, office buildings, performing arts centers, transportation facilities, or any structure with a lobby, here are six principles from healthcare lobby design that make for happier users—and more satisfied owners.
