Danish architecture studios Open Platform and JAJA Architects have won an open competition to design Denmark’s first all-timber parking garage in the coastal city of Aarhus. Designed with a reduced environmental footprint, the new multilevel parking garage will be built from cross-laminated timber and partly enveloped in greenery to help contribute to the country’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The facility has also been kept deliberately compact so as to make room on the site for a “green and creative oasis” comprising public and commercial pavilions.

Created in collaboration with Rama Studio and Søren Jensen Engineers, the proposed timber parking garage will be located in Aarhus’ South Harbor neighborhood. Spanning an area of 19,300 square meters over six floors, the building will be set on the northeastern half of the site to make room for a small park. The architects plan to blur the boundaries between the building and adjacent landscape by installing a vertical garden and lush planters along the side of the wooden facade. 

”In this project, we minimize the building’s footprint and work with wooden construction and bound carbon,” said Niels Lund Petersen, architect and partner in Open Platform. “Together with the planting of a new urban forest, we secure Aarhus’ contribution to a life-long CO2-balance.”

The project will further reduce its carbon footprint by encouraging green transportation; the ground floor of the building will include charging stations, cargo bicycle rentals, carpooling stops and parking spots dedicated to carpooling vehicles. The building is also connected to existing infrastructure onsite, such as the high line, Kulkransporet.

In addition to a total of 700 parking spots, the CLT parking garage will include 2,000 square meters of public facilities, including a gym, a gallery and a cafe. These spaces will be located on the ground floor and first floor of the building, as well as in the park pavilions and along the outdoor staircases and balconies. Diverse programming will help establish the building as a “hub for activity [and] creativity.”

Source: In Habitat