i+D - March/April 2018 - 42

Image: Istock.com/Jesussanz

Curb Appeal - By Lydia Lee

Garage Strategies
Current designs for parking garages are starting
to reflect the uncertainty around the future.
While it's difficult to adapt the existing bulky
concrete structures with low ceilings and ramps,
they can be built with adaptive reuse in mind.

Paving the Way
The year is 1962: Marilyn Monroe famously
sings her sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday"
to JFK; superhero fans meet Marvel's
Spiderman for the first time; John Glenn
becomes the first American to orbit the Earth;
and ABC releases its first color TV show-an
animated series by Hanna-Barbera about
a family 100 years in the future. Audiences
watch as George Jetson ﬂies his vehicle through
a ﬂoating city and folds it into a briefcase upon
arriving to work. The Jetsons series quickly
became, and remains still, a point of reference
when speaking about high technology in pop
culture conversations. And, while you might
not yet be able to ﬂy your kids to school
or fold up your car and carry it with you,
the notion of what it means to drive from
point A to point B is transforming before
our eyes.
Case in point is the recent CES conference
in Las Vegas, hosted by the Consumer
Technology Association. Boasted as the global
stage for innovation, the show introduced
attendees to the latest in artificial intelligence,
augmented reality, and smart cities. So, it's
no surprise that vehicle technology-and
especially self-driving cars-would take its
moment in the spotlight. And, because the
way people drive (or don't) affects us all,
representatives from the automobile world
and even beyond the road joined in on
the conversation, from automotive executives
and enthusiasts to insurance agents, IT
professionals, and government officials.
Of course, technology is at the forefront of
this advancement: Innovations abound, like
AEye's advanced vision hardware, software,
and algorithms that act as the eyes and visual
cortex of autonomous vehicles, or Foresight
Automotive Ltd.'s QuadSight four-camera
system that detects obstacles night and day
in any kind of weather.

With the freedom from having to worry about
the road comes the freedom to be innovative
with the interior design of these vehicles as well.
BMW, for instance, unveiled a concept car at
CES that features a large ﬂat-screen TV, and
Rolls-Royce has a concept car that takes it
a step further, with not only a giant television
in place of the steering wheel, but also a sofa
instead of typical car seating. In other words,
these conceptual vehicles are mimicking a living
room or lounge more so than a traditional car.
Without the need for steering wheels, changing
gears, or stepping on the gas and brake
pedals, space suddenly is freed up for other
configurations and passengers can focus on
entertainment, on work, on business meetings-
all because there's no need to keep their eyes
on the road. The car is doing it for them. And,
the concepts don't stop at CES. Renault, for
instance, boasts the cocoon-like SYMBIOZ,
which offers 180-degree-swiveling seats; three
different driving modes; and colors, shapes, and
materials that help the car act as an extension of
an owner's home interiors. And, the MercedesBenz F 015 Luxury in Motion research model
sets out to prove that self-driving vehicles
are not solely about technology, but, rather,
they will change the way we view transportation
entirely-as mobile living spaces, rather than
simply a means to get from one place to another.
All these concept cars, as expected, feature
sleek, futuristic lines on both the interior and
exterior that call to mind the beloved HannaBarbera family and their ﬂying vehicles. It feels
far away for some, but more than a decade ago
when the conversation first began, cars did not
yet have capabilities like smart cruise control or
automatic lane-changing or lane-keeping assist
as they do today. We may not be able to ﬂy
from one green light to another just yet, but the
future is now and it's blurring the lines between
home and the road.
-JESSE BRATTER

i+D - March/April 2018

In Boston's Financial District, for example, an
office building called One Post Office Square is
getting a makeover from Gensler that includes
a new parking garage. The six levels of parking
will all be flat and incorporate an automated
lift system. The three above-ground levels are
designed structurally as a single 24-foot-high
floor and clad with glass curtain wall on two sides;
in the future, the lift system could be removed
and a concrete slab could be inserted to create
two 12-foot-high floors of office space. As for the
three below-ground levels, they could be devoted
to uses that don't require natural light, including
urban farming. Gensler also has proposed
The Mod, a concept garage with flat floors and
a central atrium, which can be retrofitted with
modules that contain utilities and infrastructure
in order to create affordable housing.
It may not, however, be economically viable to
build a garage designed for double-duty. "Our
back-of-the envelope calculations show that
increasing the ceiling heights has the effect of
adding 60 percent to the cost," says Tierney.
"Instead, you could build a garage out of
something reusable, like mass timber, then
dismantle it later on."
As these forward-looking concepts near reality,
designers and planners have the opportunity to
rethink the garage, the roads, and the cityscape
with the greater good in mind. "We should feel
empowered," says Karlin-Resnick. "We can flip
the equation around and make policy decisions
based on our values."

LYDIA LEE
is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and
specializes in writing about architecture and design.
She contributes to leading trade publications,
including Architectural Record, Contract,
and Metropolis.

http://www.Istock.com/Jesussanz

i+D - March/April 2018

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