Great public infrastructural projects provide fundamental services for cities that increase the quality of life for their users. As means of transportation evolve, how can these projects remain essential over time? Parkade of the Future approaches this issue by designing multiple futures for a singular purpose building.

The ellipse creates a street-wide interior courtyard and 40-foot shallow floor plates, increasing daylight and ventilation from multiple directions. The imperceptibly shallow 1% sloped spiral creates an ‘infinite’, ‘flat’ floor plate within acceptable tolerances for class B or C office or light industrial space, and residential conversions can be achieved with minimal surface topping. Ceiling heights of 14 feet, clear spans, and universal load-bearing capacity create opportunities for gradual or wholesale changes with low-cost impacts. An elliptical floor plate is shorter than a typical rectilinear floor plate, requiring less concrete and increasing spatial separation at the curved ends, creating the ideal glazing scenario for future conversions.

The building frame is enveloped in a distinctive guard shroud, raised strategically around the perimeter to signal and provide entrances, and composed of recycled and recyclable raw aluminum. The shroud is clipped onto the floor plates, making them fully removable and reconfigurable to accommodate future transformations.

PLATFORM Innovation Centre occupies the first and second levels of the parkade, adding 24/7 community vibrancy to the street and courtyard. Introduced halfway into the design process, PLATFORM was the first test of the project’s adaptability and flexibility, achieved through deliberate use of removable scaffolding allowing multiple spatial reconfigurations.