Tokyo Parking Structure Adds Green Space to Cityscape with "Green Cladding"

Rendering of Shinjuku Gardens' exterior street viewShinjuku Gardens by Hong Kong-based Cheungvogl (Judy Cheung and Christoph Vogl) is a social, environmental and urban contribution, solely based on economical profit which deals with the cost of sheltered parking and green spaces within Tokyo.

Shinjuku Gardens is a 2 story car park, which replaces an existing open one, that doubles the number of spots available for vehicles. Considering the relative tightness of the space, ramps are replaced by elevators - within a 2 story circulation this is feasible, depending on lot-based car-lifting. Even by doubling the amount of parking spaces over two levels, the ground area is reduced by one fifth, thanks to a more effective layout which provides more free green space, along with the infiltration of rain water.

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The City of Madrid Receives Prestigious Green GOOD DESIGN Award 2010

El Parque de Buen Retiro, Madrid The City of Madrid is full of surprises. If the complexities of today’s urban life with large cities full of historical and modern buildings and a busy metropolis of high density neighborhoods and bustling urban traffic are to be avoided for the pristine countryside and open rural spaces, think again. Madrid is full of abundant huge green parks, magnificent tree-lined boulevards, flowers, emblematric green-scapes, vertical gardens, a boating lake, and an enormous sprawling parkland making the Capital of Spain one of the world’s leading examples of urban beautification and a Green Renaissance in our 21st Century.

Founded in Chicago in 1950 by architects Eero Saarinen and Charles and Ray Eames, GOOD DESIGN is the world’s oldest and most significant global program that awards the best of the best design in terms of visionary products and environments. 

For the entire press release, read after the jump.

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Design for Parisian Mini-Parks Unites Urban and Natural

Stefan Gzyl's new project “Parc Disponible” is one of the finalists on an international competition recently held in Paris on ways to incorporate nature into the urban environment in original ways. “Parc Disponible” is a glass box enclosing a mini-park for individual use within the city. 

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