Great Garages: Parking, Reconsidered
See how architects are working with car storage as an integrated part of a home's design
Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City. I have Bachelor of Architecture and Master in Urban Planning degrees, and over ten years experience in architectural practice, split between Chicago and NYC. Currently I'm focused on writing and online pursuits. My daily blog can be found at http://archidose.blogspot.com
Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City.... More »
One of the biggest problems with the single-family home is the garage: its design (apparently an afterthought in many cases), its size, and its placement. The norm, an attached multi-car garage often closer to the street than the front door, needs improvement. This ideabook takes a broad look at garages as well as carports and driveways to see how the storage of cars can be better integrated into the design of houses.
More: Entrance Canopies: The New Porch
More: Entrance Canopies: The New Porch
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| This garage leaps off the screen for the translucent doors that stand out at night. But it's safe to assume that most of the time the lights are off and the wood screen predominates, just as during the day. These horizontal slats continue in a band across the front of the house, creating a strong link between the two; this is strengthened in the garage's roof doubling as a terrace for the master bedroom. |
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| A similar maneuver is found in this house, in the way the one-story wood expression layered in the front continues across to the garage on the left. |
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| A four-car garage is unwieldy whatever the circumstances may be, but the architects on this project created four distinct doors, instead of two bigger ones. Above is a cantilevered glass volume that utilizes the roof above the garage for a terrace. |
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| This contemporary house — two boxes with large irregular glass openings — incorporates the garage by continuing the irregular nature of the windows above. The garage is tight to the corner, showing the depth of the exterior wall in the process. It's a unique design, but one can learn from it how the garage can be integrated with the house, both physically and in terms of style. |
| The next batch of examples are what I call the "village approach." Both the house and garage are composed of smaller volumes, sometimes literally but in most cases formally through the articulation of roofs and exterior walls. In this example the garage, covered in wood with a translucent door, fronts a house that is highly articulated modern composition. |
| Various roofs and overhangs give this L-shaped house some character. The garage and entry face a generous forecourt, but the presence of the former is softened by a trellis, a green roof and other vegetation. |
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by Birdseye Design
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| The garage (left) and farmhouse (right) are linked by a covered walkway that is echoed in the design of the house. |
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| The village comparison is quite strong in this huge, 11,000-square-foot house. Here we see the multi-car garage and an arched opening ... |
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| ... The opening leads to a village-like "street" between the garage and the main house. |
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| A new garage can be found to the left of this house. A closer look beyond the gate between the two volumes reveals ... |
... a quaint walkway linking the garage and house. A sliding metal door provides access to and from the garage, an interesting touch.
But let's not forget city dwellings, where a village approach is quite difficult. Small lots require other solutions, such as this ground-floor garage that has a similar appearance to the windows above.
At the very least the way the windows are stacked above the garage and entry give the facade a logic, even though each pieces is detailed differently.
At the very least the way the windows are stacked above the garage and entry give the facade a logic, even though each pieces is detailed differently.
This garage at the rear of a house actually puts the car on display.
At the rear of this narrow townhouse is the ground-floor garage, which is integrated with the window above, so the a two-story opening is made in the brick wall.
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| The zone in front of the garage is just as important as, say, the garage door or where the garage is located relative to the house. An increasingly popular approach is to use a drivable grass surface, be it a product that is hidden beneath the blades or incorporating grass between pavers. Grass paving allows water that would normally run into the street and sewer to enter the ground and be naturally filtered. Here grass is found next to the garage, at the bottom of a more traditional driveway. |
by Robert Granoff
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The pattern in this lawn points to how it is a hybrid surface that can be driven upon.
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| That same pattern is visible at the front of this house, pointing to its use as a parking space, and making a segue into the next group of projects: carports. |
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| First are a couple projects that combine garages and carports. Here we see the two side by side, which makes sense in the South Carolina locale. |
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by FrontPorch
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| A more modern and disconnected take can be found in this example. Following the driveway that moves from right to left in the photo we come across first a carport under the corner of the house; at far left is a driveway extension that heads back to the garage at the rear. |
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by Crestview Doors
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| In this example the carport is linked to the house via a roof extension. The columns holding up the roof help demarcate the two parking spaces. |
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| This striking house uses a dramatic roof form as a cover for parked cars. Entrance to the house is down some steps barely visible at right. |
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| Last is this interesting house that features a freestanding wood construction (visible in the photo at right) as a carport in front of the house. |
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| Up close, this construction features a lot of detail and a translucent cover that lightens the space under the roof. It's an idiosyncratic design that is much simpler and more lighthearted than the typical suburban garage. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here. Regional modern architecture: Chicago | Boston | Austin | NYC | NY Metro | Oregon | Seattle | San Francisco |L.A. | Coastal L.A. |
Ideabook published on Jan. 6, 2012.
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http://archidose.blogspot.com/2006/04/suburban-composition.html
Why take a chance to spice up the urban landscape and creeatr some excitement?
Bravo to Architects Magnus for giving us some zest into our dull streetscapes.
I really like the village concept to create a courtyard. That's what I'd like in my own home.
You can see more on this project here
I wonder how you modify a side garage/driveway setup to provide safe egress/ingress between house and driveway. Without breaking the bank. This is personal. I worry about my family in a big city with plenty of crime.
Garages and personal safety between house and car are a huge concern in my city, (not naming it because it gets disparaged enough already), with lots of driveway armed attacks/theft/assaults in neighborhoods of all ecosocial-what's the word.
My 84 yr old mom lives in a nice 1960s ranch on a corner in a neighborhood that was in the boonies 40 years ago when it was new (there were cattle just a couple of blocks away). It is now considered "close in" and "very desirable". The detached double garage is the kind on the side, short driveway, facing the side street. That side street happens to be one of the neighborhood's busiest streets. It's not the main thoroughfare, but it does run through this neighborhood and the ones north and south of it. So lots of people of all mindsets use the street to get around everyday.
The garage is used to store my son-in-law's extra car. Don't get me started. Therefore everyone has to park their car in the driveway or street. My mom mostly parks in the driveway. From the driveway, once parked, one must get out of the car, walk across a short, narrow concrete sidewalk to a 1/2 gate at a patio (which is laid between the garage and the back door), open the gate, close the gate (there is an old, loud, not very cooperative latch on the gate - no lock), get the right key out for the back door, get it in the lock, open the back door, step up into the very tiny and cluttered utility room without falling over something left on the floor) close the back door, and lock the back door (heaven forbid if groceries or other packages need to be unloaded).
It takes me about 20-30 seconds. It takes my mom 3 - 5 minutes if all works out.
Passersby can see everything that happens, and normally one would think that is a good crime deterrent. Not in our city. Time of day is no factor in home invasions, whether front-door kick-in tie-up robberies, driveway assaults, front door murders, backdoor breakins, whatever.
My mom comes and goes through that side gate often. At 84 she has an extremely active life, primarily centered around her many widowed friends and her church. Most of her activities take place on a regular schedule.
Oh, to multiply my concern, my Ph.D. daughter, her husband, and their 2 children under 6 also live there. That's good, you say? Should be, but it seems my mom and my daughter's family live completely separate lives, one never knowing what the other is doing. (But they are all very happy together. It is the funniest thing. Or is that dysfunctional?)
My daughter is off-the-chart bright. Now what is it they say about really bright people and common sense? Or maybe she's had me fooled all these years. That's so possible. Anyway she seems to have chosen to believe nothing will never happen to them, eithert because it's just easier that way, or because her husband is a cop. I say how does he protect anyone at home if all he does is work or sleep? No, I don't say that to her. I say it to me.
So I'm not only concerned about an elderly woman, but a young mother and her babies, all 4 who are clueless to the dangers of big city life.
Would anyone have any ideas?