Shielded Parking
. . . many patterns we have given discourage dependence on the use of cars; we hope that these patterns will gradually get rid, altogether, of the need for large parking lots and parking structures—Local Transport Areas, Nine Percent Parking. However, in certain cases, unfortunately, large areas of parking are still necessary. Whenever this is so, this parking must be placed very early, to be sure that it does not destroy the Building Complex altogether.
Problem:
Large parking structures full of cars are inhuman and dead buildings—no one wants to see them or walk by them. At the same time, if you are driving, the entrance to a parking structure is essentially the main entrance to the building—and it needs to be visible.
Background & Research: Not Included on the site—Go read the book!
Solution:
Put all large parking lots, or parking garages, behind some kind of natural wall, so that the cars and parking structures cannot be seen from outside. The wall which surrounds the can may be a building, connected houses, or housing hills, earth berms, or shops. Make the entrance to the parking lot a natural gateway to the buildings which it serves, and place it so that you can easily see the main entrance to the building from the entrance to the parking.
Usage:
For shields see Housing Hill, Housing In Between, Individually Owned Shops, Open Stairs, Gallery Surround. One of the cheapest ways of all to shield a parking lot is with canvas awnings—the canvas can be many colors: underneath, the light is beautiful—Canvas Roofs. Make certain that the major entrances of buildings are quite clearly visible from the place where you drive into parking lots, and from the places where you leave the parking lots on foot Circulation Realms, Family of Entrances, Main Entrance. In covered parking structures, use a huge shaft of daylight as a natural direction which tells people where to walk to leave the parking—Tapestry of Light and Dark; and finally, for the load-bearing structure, engineering, and construction, begin with Structure Follows Social Spaces . . .
pg. 477