The Parking Garage: Design and Evolution of a Modern Urban Form (Hardcover)

~ Shannon S. McDonald (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"McDonald finds beauty in her subject and has some sensible suggestions about how to improve her favorite building type."  —The Washington Post

"The author has provided a study of best practices in the design, development, and construction of parking garages and presented a fresh look at how to accommodate cars in the built environment."  —Engineering News-Record,  ENR.com

Product Description

Examining the parking garage from an architect's perspective, this book chronicles the evolution and future of parking garage innovations—from early elevator and ramp designs through the modern, sustainable structures of today.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Urban Land Institute (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874209986
• ISBN-13: 978-0874209983
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #372,192 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #62 in

  Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > Project Planning & Management

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Parking Garage, February 14, 2009

By	J. D. Manning (Fresno, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very thorough look on much neglected aspects of architecture, transportation, and urban planning. I come from the transportaion world and found the book quite helpful in many areas from the havoc autos (and of course the where to park them problem) encountered in every urban core especially those that were built pre-auto. Given the sheer cost and land needed for providing parking in an auto dominated America this is a well timed book. It relates to congestion, sprawl, quality of living, city aesthetics, and indirectly with energy and pollution issues. It's estimated that parking costs as much as the US defense budget, but the costs are almost entirely hidden. The book gives a great blend of bringing these elements together. Not only is it an eye opening read but I recommend it as reference source for those invloved in urban planning, transportation, and urban architecture in both the light of the history, the current status, and assisting in envisioning better ways in the future.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for all architecture libraries, February 3, 2008

By	An architect "An Architect" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This book is an amazing overview of the parking garage typology and it is the architectural compliment to the several excellent more engineering and planning books oriented books on the topic. Vividly illustrated with over 350 images, 312 pages, most in color, the amazing evolution of the typolgy is explored and throughily discussed within architectural concepts showing visions never seen before. Ten chapters cover all the key issues related to architectural typolgies and the final chapter presents amazing ideas and visions of the future. Highlighting sustainable ideas for new movement machines - car and transit, from the past and into the future and how they will be parked begins to present transformations to our urban environment for the future. Ideas are postitioned within solid reasearch and architectural intellectual discussions of man and machine. Many other books are referenced and the endnotes and further readings provide an extensive source for all students, architects, engineers, and planners.