Tim B. Castillo [Design]

The focus of this project centers on the problematic conditions that the automobile has placed on cities in the western United States.  Park(ing) is a project that begins to formulate a new response to the suburban strip mall.  It tries to understand the cultural foundations of consumerism and creates a new sympathetic response to the landscape and the urban fabric.

In rethinking the strip mall we are interested in eradicating transitional void spaces such as parking lots and reprogramming them with socially active events.  The sports park evolved out of a need to create an urban space that was beneficial to the surrounding residential housing in the area.   Researching current consumer trends we were interested in pushing new technologies as a means of creating a new typology.  The increase activity in virtual shopping and the advancement in cell phone and Guide Position Systems allowed us to engage in a drive-thru system that operates through digital functions.

A grass paving system, that allowed for both vehicular and pedestrian activities to occur, drove the framework for the scheme.  The shopping core is elevated to allow the park to flow through underneath and a drive thru system above functions around existing retail shops.   The stationary vehicular parking is placed on the top floor and shoppers would enter from above.  The convenience of online shopping and the need for understanding automobile culture gives Denver a new typology to rethink urban strategies in suburban environments.