Park House envisions converting multi-story car parks into apartment blocks
Dezeen
October 31, 2018
Our latest MINI Living video features a conceptual housing project, with houses made from shipping containers placed within repurposed multi-story parking garages.
Park House is a proposal by American firm KTGY Architecture + Planning to transform unused parking garages into the framework for housing units that would be built from industrial shipping containers.
The Park House concept proposes combining shipping containers with unused parking structures to create apartments
Each unit would combine three shipping containers to form a 960-square-feet (89-square-meter) apartment fitted with bathroom and kitchen facilities.
In KTGY Architecture + Planning’s proposal the containers’ side panels would be removed to open up the structure, which would be reinforced with steel beams and prefabricated walls, separating the space into different rooms. A small space underneath each container would allow for plumbing and electricity to be installed.
Each unit would be fitted with living spaces, a washroom and a kitchen
The housing units would then be “plugged” into the side of unused multi-story parking garages side by side to create rows of apartments.
According to KTGY Architecture + Planning, a suitable parking structure for conversion would have multiple stories. A courtyard would be carved out during its conversion, in order to create social space for residents and supply daylight to the apartments.
Rows of apartments would be created by “plugging” multiple units into the side of unused parking structures
Extra space facing the courtyard, acts as a corridor granting residents access to their apartments and space to socialize, and openings in the floorspace bring in light and a visual connection to the other levels.
Each apartment would be fitted with a private patio, which would be staggered to create a degree of variation in the facade.
The project hopes to provide housing for young professionals and first-time buyers
The project aims to be a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable way of providing low-cost housing to young professionals and first-time buyers.
“In the US, we have a housing affordability crisis,” explains lead architect David Senden. “Everybody is trying to find the solution to how you can build housing at a lower cost.”
“We wondered whether there was a way to repurpose these structures instead of knocking them down.”
While the project is currently at a conceptual stage, Senden predicts that it is only a matter of time before multi-story parking structures are repurposed to create affordable housing.
The concept could help to solve the housing affordability crisis in the US
This movie is part of Dezeen x MINI Living Initiative, a collaboration with MINI Living exploring how architecture and design can contribute to a brighter urban future through a series of videos and talks.
