Parkitecture

For the past few months, we’ve been mulling over our feelings about the celebration of ‘parkitecture’ that has been happening in Miami over the past year.  In celebrating parking garages as civic structures architects Herzog & de Meuron put an interesting spin on a usually under-utilized land use.

While the New York Times gushes over the facility, we still have questions — mainly about the ethos of an auto centric society embeded in the structure.  Sure it has retail spaces and can double as event space; sure it is big airy and light-filled, but something about it feels wrong given the alternative dialogues being had carbon reduction (See the 2030 Challenge).  The building predicament. As stated in the times,

It is, in many ways, an ode to Miami’s flashy automobile culture. Rather than seeking to hide cars, as garages have done for decades, it openly celebrates them.

And therein lies the paradox; how can we realistically celebrate the auto, and retain a firm commitment to address climate?  And hence our internal struggle.