Parking; expired; transformation of a 50-year-old rowhouse parking lot into complementary housing and climate resilient green space

Abstract

Sweden is estimated to have between three to five parking slots per car, which adds up to a total parking area that exceeds the total residential area in the country. At the same time, housing shortage is a fact in many cities, and so are the increasingly prevalent problems related to climate change, such as floodings and heat waves. This thesis aims to investigate if and how urban parking space could be transformed to help mitigate both of these issues. Focus is put on the shared parking lots in rowhouse neighbourhoods, through the example of Persikogatan in Gothenburg. Literature reviews and contextual research concludes that the role of private cars in urban environments has changed significantly since the neighbourhood was built 50 years ago. The expansion of public transport along with introduction of carsharing and other mobility solutions provides opportunity for re-evaluation of these types of older residential parking spaces. Moreover, new multi-family housing is designed with less than half of the parking space provided in Persikogatan. The research also provides key strategies for housing shortage mitigation and climate resilience improvement. These include dedicating the new housing to specific age groups and improving the diversity of housing sizes, as well as increasing the ratio of green to paved area in the neighbourhood. Through an iterative design process, involving site visits, reference studies and model explorations, all this research was translated into an architectural design proposal taking half of Persikogatan’s parking space into consideration. The previously paved area is replaced by green and permeable landscaping, new common spaces and 12 additional apartments catered specifically to elderly. The thesis results in a site-specific proposal, designed to complement the existing housing and functions in Persikogatan neighbourhood. However, the discourse and many of the design features are also applicable to other similar projects and shows how a previously unquestioned urban typology can be better utilised with consideration to current day needs. The thesis also gives explicit examples of how building material from redundant structures can be revitalised in a new context, and how characteristic design features could be interpreted in new ways