In an era dominated by people-centered urban planning, 15-minute cities, and vibrant public spaces, parking garages often stand as symbols of everything modern cities try to avoid. Yet these concrete structures, now viewed as obstacles to contemporary urban ideals, once represented the pinnacle of modern progress and technological advancement.
The relationship between automobiles and urban development remains complex and paradoxical. Even decades after French philosopher Jean Baudrillard observed that cars function as extensions of domestic space, this insight continues to resonate. The vehicle serves as a protective bubble where individuals maintain a sense of security even when far from home. This dependence, deeply tied to the car's symbolic representation of personal freedom, permeates multiple layers of culture, from the Oscar-winning film "Nomadland" where the vehicle becomes both shelter and symbol of liberation.
While automobiles have undeniably provided essential individual autonomy, particularly in areas where governments failed to develop adequate public infrastructure, they have also created increasingly segregated and unsustainable urban environments. Despite this contradiction, cars and their associated structures, including parking garages, remain integral parts of the urban fabric, raising fundamental questions about society, architecture, and contemporary urban transformation.
The history of parking garages spans more than a century, beginning with the mass adoption of automobiles in major cities at the end of the 19th century. London built the world's first parking garage in 1901, a seven-story structure accommodating approximately 100 vehicles. Around the same period in Barcelona, beneath Antoni Gaudí's famous Casa Milà, Europe's first underground parking facility was developed, featuring elevators to transport cars between levels—an early precursor to the mechanized systems that would later define the building type.
During the interwar period, European architects experimented extensively with new parking typologies, introducing helical ramps and modernist design solutions. Notable examples include Berlin's Kant-Garage (1930), featuring a double spiral ramp with space for 300 vehicles, and the Stern-Garagen in Chemnitz (1928), which utilized elevators to move cars across six floors. These projects demonstrated the architectural potential of what was essentially a new building type.
The post-World War II automobile boom led to massive proliferation of parking garages, both as standalone structures and integrated components of shopping centers. Reinforced concrete became the dominant construction material, though steel structures gained popularity for enabling faster and more flexible construction methods. The 1960s saw notable examples like Edinburgh's Castle Terrace Car Park (1964-1966), which stood out as a Brutalist interpretation of the typology, designed with remarkable sensitivity to its historic surroundings.
Throughout their evolution, however, only a handful of parking garages achieved architectural distinction through structural innovation, technological advancement, or pioneering urban integration. The majority became simple concrete boxes, stripped of architectural expression and creating dead zones within cities. These monofunctional structures, with blank and uninviting facades, disrupted urban vitality and discouraged pedestrian activity, representing everything contemporary urbanism seeks to avoid.
As cities undergo fundamental shifts in mobility patterns—marked by efficient public transit systems, car-sharing services, and the anticipated arrival of autonomous vehicles—traditional parking garage models are revealing their limitations and, in some cases, obsolescence. The contemporary challenge involves prioritizing human experience over purely automotive logic, transforming these spaces into hybrid infrastructures that offer architectural quality, safety, and urban vibrancy.
Recent projects integrating mixed uses such as retail, leisure, housing, and green spaces point toward a future where parking facilities can become urban catalysts rather than dead zones. Technological advances including automated parking systems and modular construction using steel or precast concrete have increased flexibility, allowing these structures to adapt or be repurposed as cities evolve. This transformation is exemplified by ODA's project in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which converts the ruins of a former parking structure into a public park and office building.
Contemporary examples demonstrate successful urban integration and architectural expression. ParkRide Antwerp, designed by HUB, exemplifies this modern vision by seamlessly integrating into the city's mobility network. Beyond reducing congestion, it supports sustainable transport policies through a park-and-ride system encouraging drivers to leave their vehicles and continue journeys via public transit. The building functions as both a logistical hub and active urban infrastructure, offering parking alongside supporting and communal spaces.
This project highlights a crucial aspect often overlooked in parking garage design: attention to pedestrian circulation. Poorly designed routes create confusing and unsafe experiences. Design decisions regarding ramp types—whether straight, helical, half-turn, or continuous—must consider both spatial optimization and the creation of intuitive, comfortable pathways for users.
Architects increasingly seek to introduce new functions to these structures, transforming them into active city components. Copenhagen's ParknPlay, designed by JAJA Architects, exemplifies this approach by including a public rooftop playground accessed via a spiral staircase wrapping around the facade. The building transcends its utilitarian purpose, becoming an urban destination and demonstrating how even mundane programs can gain cultural and social value through sensitive design.
This project also reveals the expressive potential of parking garage facades as fields for architectural experimentation. Natural ventilation, essential for safety and air quality, can be treated aesthetically through louvers, metal meshes, or perforated panels, giving buildings distinct identities while ensuring light and cross-ventilation. These design strategies prove that functional requirements need not compromise architectural quality.
Over more than a century, parking garages have evolved from purely utilitarian structures into reflections of technological, urban, and cultural transformations. As cities rethink mobility systems, contemporary examples demonstrate that this building typology need not remain a relic of outdated urban models. Instead, these structures can be reimagined as protagonists of contemporary urban life, aligned with smarter, more sustainable, and more human-centered mobility systems that prioritize community engagement and environmental responsibility.
