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From office buildings to towers to hotels, urban environments across the world have seen huge improvements in vertical design over the years. But in amongst all this creativity and innovation, there was always one building left waiting for a look-in: the humble multi-storey car park.

Now, thanks to an international architectural competition, there’s a futuristic new proposal set to revolutionise the way we park our cars. It’s called the “CarPARK”, and it aims to provide a great day out parking for the whole family.

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Designed in 2011 by Interface Studio Architects, Hong Kong, this concept has been receiving a lot of attention lately as an alternative to the generic, lifeless buildings that usually house our cars. The “CarPARK” places all its emphasis on the park aspect of the experience, promising a bright, lively multi-functional space to enjoy views, shopping, food and sports.

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While this sounds like a dressed-up shopping centre, the design shows the cars are the real centrepiece, taking up the majority of the complex. The competition challenge for designers was to conceal an ordinary car park in an extraordinary building.

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No longer just a mundane space for cars and fight scenes in movies, the car park is now open and inviting. While it looks stunning, there are questions about the inconvenience and possible costs involved in the roofless design, which makes it a difficult model to implement. They’ve worked a storm-water management strategy into the design which we hope stops the structure from becoming an enormous water slide during the monsoon season.

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According to ISA, an architectural research company from Philadelphia, USA, the design is currently in a proposal stage but it’s a new concept that many people will be studying for the future.

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Sources: Peachy ArchDaily