100 Word Description: The Green Square Parking Deck provides parking for a new LEED-certified government complex. A sustainable approach is evident throughout the 900-space structure, which includes photovoltaic roof panels, car-charging stations, rainwater collection cistern, LED lighting, covered bicycle parking, and high-recycled-content materials. The deck is a concrete structural frame wrapped in aluminum solar blades. These sunshades provide a sense of enclosure while also allowing air and light into the parking levels. Glass stair towers announce vertical circulation and help contribute to the street edge, while precast concrete pays respect to the adjacent historic stone-clad buildings. Horizontal canopies indicate vehicular and pedestrian access points along the two major city streets. The pedestrian experience is enhanced by a covered bench at the corner bus stop, long overhangs, and transparent stair towers with views of downtown Raleigh.
Architect’s Statement: The Green Square Parking Deck is a 9-level parking structure that is part of the redevelopment of a full city block in a downtown government complex of Raleigh, NC. The development includes the parking structure, a museum and an office building. The parking deck incorporates several sustainable design strategies while providing 900 parking spaces for visitors and employees of the adjacent museum and offices. Conceptually, the parking deck is conceived as a concrete frame wrapped in an enclosure screen of vertical solar blades. These solar blades allow air and light to penetrate the deck, while also providing a sense of enclosure. These sun screens conceived as a curtain, in some cases being pulled back where openings are desired for views and emergency access. To anchor the parking structure to the site and the adjacent buildings, the cladding transitions at the ground as a solid base of precast concrete which mimics the stone cladding of adjacent historic structures. Stair towers are located along the street edge and major intersections to provide pedestrians with visible and safe access. Glass curtain wall provides transparency and weather protection to these vertical circulation elements. Long canopies extend horizontally from the structure to protect and transition pedestrians along the sidewalk and to indicate access points for both pedestrians and vehicles. A photovoltaic array is located above the top parking level, supplying collected solar energy directly into the power grid. Rainwater is collected and stored in a cistern to be used for irrigation of the surrounding government complex grounds and landscaping. Both the cistern and the PV array are expressed as architectural elements visible inside the deck and also from the street. The PV array doubles as a sunshade for the top level of parking, which is typically exposed to direct sun and the elements. In addition to these measures, over 100 charging stations are provided for electric car charging.
Type of Construction: Typical construction methods/materials include: cast-in-place concrete, steel photovoltaic roof structure, precast concrete panels, extruded aluminum solar blades, aluminum and glass curtain wall, and aluminum metal panels.
