Parking house; from parking garage to car free housing

Abstract

The 20th century established cars and their accompanying infrastructure as a sign of modernity. Today, we are confronted with the environmental, economic and social consequences of carcentric urban planning. While still important and necessary, cars and the space dedicated to them in their current form are critically evaluated and pointed out as a source of numerous problems and an obstacle to a sustainable future. With new developments in urban mobility planning, regulations, technology and growing public awareness of environmental issues, a people-centered and private vehicle-free future is feasible, especially in urban areas. A surplus of parking spaces is seen as one element driving dependence on private vehicles. Depending on the scale and type of infrastructure, different measures are being taken. In the case of multi-story parking garages, there is an opportunity to use existing structures and adapt them to host new functions that can contribute to meeting local needs. This master’s thesis focuses on transforming the Ceres multi-story garage in Gothenburg into a sustainable, car-free residential building with features that support a sustainable lifestyle. The goal of the work is to develop a project that utilize the existing building’s strengths and overcome challenges inherent to structures originally designed for cars, and to propose a functional model that will support the choice of sustainable urban mobility and minimizes residents’ need for travel. By transforming a large inner city parking garage into vibrant spaces, the project not only reduces the infrastructure that supports car use, but also redefines the perception of such spaces, which are often not seen as valuable. The theoretical framework used in this work is based on strategies drawn from case studies of the transformation of multi-story garages and car-free residential developments, and literature. This work seeks to spark interest in the possibilities and benefits of converting multistory garages, and spread the idea of car-free housing and contribute to the expanding dialogue on the future of such facilities.