Most people think of parking garages as ugly behemoths that perform a necessary evil, but one author and architect has a different way of looking at them.
"'A car park is a kind of gothic space, a dark space, it's like the dark scenes in films in which you're scared not because you should be scared but because you don't quite know what's coming,' says Simon Henley who writes of their 'mysterious inhumane beauty' in 'The Architecture of Parking.'"
"The fact that garages tend to be commissioned by promoters keen only on optimizing parking space can even be considered a plus, Henley says: 'The beauty is that economics mean you pay less attention to people being in them than to parking cars in them. We forget that we have to go into them, the beauty is in this slightly forgotten dimension of experience.'"
"Henley's own practice, Buschow Henley, is working on parking projects from Moscow to Dublin and his degree project in 1989 was a garage which he chose to make corset-shaped, with ramps like laces. The argument of his book is that good architecture (as well as crime) is committed in parking spaces."
FULL STORY: Simon Henley in "The Architecture of Parking," finds beauty in dark garages
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Vehicle-related Deaths Drop 29% in Richmond, VA
The seventh year of the city's Vision Zero strategy also cut the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes by half.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
Public Lands Are Safe — For Now
A proposal to sell off federally owned lands was removed from the Republican spending bill on procedural grounds.
Hundreds of New Yorkers Hospitalized Due to Extreme Heat
A brutal heat wave is causing hospitalizations for heat-related illnesses, an increasingly common threat as summers get warmer.
Opinion: Illinois Transit Bill Could Revolutionize Intercity Travel
A bill passed by the state’s General Assembly would create a permanent source of dedicated funding for intercity rail.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
Sarasota County Government
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)