Commercial Architecture June 2017 - 14

FEATURE

mixed use

sance to some residents. By looking at the site in a holistic
way, we are able to balance the needs and desires of many with

Ken's V I E W

an optimum combination of uses to create a vibrant and pros-

Don't Give Up Your Parking Space Yet

perous community."
IT'S A COMMUNITY

Mixed-use isn't just a single building any longer. "It's more
about building a sense of community, whether through one
large project that integrates many elements or in the development of an entire neighborhood," Holcomb commented.
"How you create that sense of community is dependent on
the organization, city, town, or site; the area demographics;
and other surrounding features and amenities. Driving forces
are walkability, access to public transportation, entertainment
and cultural resources, and even sports venues. People want to
park that car, walk to and take advantage of a mix of resources, infrastructure, and amenities. Whether they're coming to
work or have to get groceries, it's the same forces at work."
Epstein's James Young agreed that it's not just about a single building. "As an architect informing the work of a developer, I feel the work we do in a single, mixed-use building has to
inform the neighborhood's future development. We have to
anticipate what our neighbor's needs are and hope to set the
neighborhood's development on the right course," he said.
"Developers want to avoid two things more than any other: high commercial turnover at street-level spaces and low
occupancy rates upstairs," he added. "The best way for an architect to drive sustainable development is to better understand who these residents and customers will be and anticipate
their mid- to long-term needs. Then, with the flexibility of a
building that supports living, working, and play, developers
have buildings that can adapt to future trends in the housing
market. If market trends require it, a rental building can go
condo. If an increase of amenity space is needed to support an
increase in residents remoting into work, a failing commercial
space gets renovated into a shared office amenity for residents.
Being flexible and contextual is key to long-term success for
developers and the neighborhoods they influence and define,"
he said.
The expectations of building owners, tenants, and visitors
to mixed-use neighborhoods clearly have evolved. No doubt
adjustments will continue to be made as needs and preferences
mature, making those plans that are the most flexible the ones
that will be the most successful. CA

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deally, mixed-use venues are about a density that

always be a parking garage and should be flexibly

makes them walkable and cars a thing of the past.

designed with that in mind. That's because not just any

But architects and planners know better than to write

parking garage is going to easily convert to other uses.

off parking just yet.

Floors will have to be flat, not sloped, and the depth

Not that it couldn't change, mind you. In fact,

of the average garage may work against residential

some people are quite sure that it will. RethinkX, an

adaptive reuse. Still, adaptive reuse is not out of the

independent research group with offices in London

question.

and San Francisco, says that "within 10 years of the

The problem is that none of this has happened

regulatory approval of driverless vehicles, 95% of

yet. Apple's new campus, Apple Park in Cupertino,

U.S. passenger miles traveled will be served by on-

CA, is said to have 11,000 parking spaces. Except for

demand Autonomous Electric Vehicles (A-EVs) owned

encouraging, even making it necessary, for employees

by companies providing Transport as a Service (TaaS).

to drive to work, the place is claimed to be an ecological

I can hardly wait. People will be trading their cars

wonder. The naturally ventilated building is said to

in for acronyms. And this Transport as a Service Thing.

require no heating or air conditioning for nine months

Didn't we used to call that a bus? Don't get me wrong.

of the year. In addition, Apple is planting 6,000 trees.

The idea of a driverless Uber appearing on demand has

Apple trees, maybe?

a certain appeal, but who's going to clean up the food

Couple of questions here. Mightn't Apple have

wrappers on the floor and scrub the graffiti off of the

located its new digs somewhere closer to public

dash? But I'll admit it can be argued that a couple of

transportation? OK, maybe that wasn't an option. But, if

tons of steel, rubber, and plastic just taking up space

the TaaS scenario I just described comes to pass, what

in a parking lot or driveway most of the day and night

is Apple going to do with all those parking spaces? Will

seems a tad wasteful.

Apple own a fleet of A-EVs just for employee use or will

Somehow this on-demand thing will result in fewer

local residents have to vie with Apple workers for a ride

cars on the road, dropping from 247 million in 2020 to

to work in the morning? And, either way, won't that still

44 million in 2030, according to the report. I assume

pose an area traffic problem? To be fair, the company

this means individual auto usage will be maximized

boasts an extensive shuttle network, provisions for

because the car doesn't park, it just goes off in search

cyclists, and all that.

of another passenger. I guess that makes sense. But if

No question, this is disruptive stuff, but I suppose

you're talking about ride sharing, then it's just another

this will all work itself out. Eventually. But wait,

bus.

remember flying cars? Now I hear that drones will
In addition, using TaaS will be four to 10 times

change building design and appearance and how they

cheaper per mile than buying a new car, and two to

are used. At least that's what Mark Dytham, co-founder

four times cheaper than operating an existing paid-off

of Tokyo-based studio Klein Dytham Architecture

vehicle, by 2021, the report continues.

thinks will happen, according to an online architecture

That's great news, especially as long as you're not

magazine. He predicted that unmanned aerial vehicles

at all involved in the auto industry. If you own stock, you

(UAVs) would replace road-based trucks for deliveries,

might want to consider selling it now; as demand for

meaning the buildings would have to provide a place

new vehicles plummets-70% fewer passenger cars

for them to land-and it won't be loading docks in a

and trucks will be manufactured each year, the report

back alley. Maybe they could alight in that 11,000-car

predicts.

parking lot.

Likewise, if you own a parking garage, I suppose

There's more. Dytham also predicts the rise of

selling it before the market for car-storage facilities

people-carrying drones. Perhaps I spoke too soon

dries up wouldn't be a bad idea.

when I suggested that the flying car scheme wasn't

By the way, it's not that people haven't already
thought about the future of parking garages. Several

Duda|Paine Architects
Epstein Chicago

COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE

likely to happen.
For now, I'm hanging on to the parking space for my

Form4 Architecture

architects I've spoken with over the past year have

ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle just in case.

The Architectural Team

advanced the idea that a parking garage might not

- Kenneth W. Betz, Senior Editor

JUNE 2017

commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture June 2017