Archinect - News 2024-12-23T22:06:47-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150360401/melbourne-considers-the-future-potential-of-high-rise-parking-areas-as-urban-farms Melbourne considers the future potential of high-rise parking areas as urban farms Josh Niland 2023-08-17T12:17:00-04:00 >2023-08-17T12:17:30-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/b9/b996bbe1e5f85c99127c5f4a96e97534.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>Urban farms and communal spaces are among the ideas for repurposing car park floors in Melbourne&rsquo;s skyscrapers in the future, when it is predicted that residents will rely more on driverless and shared electric cars. The architects of Melbourne&rsquo;s tallest building, Australia 108, have created designs envisioning the transformation of the building&rsquo;s 10 levels of car parking into space for a vertical farm, beehives, water collection and storage, pet care, podcast studios, co-working and education.</p></em><br /><br /><p>Downtown Melbourne's potential future scenario of widely-available <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/741924/self-driving-vehicles" target="_blank">self-driving cars</a> has developers rethinking millions of square feet worth of parking garages, and vertical farms are seen as a solution (along with housing, retail, and dining options). An <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/building-and-development/urban-planning/melbourne-planning-scheme/planning-scheme-amendments/Pages/amendment-c376-sustainable-building-design.aspx" target="_blank">amendment</a> to its planning rules that would require new parking structure designs to include their retrofitting consideration has been proposed that would add an extra layer to the pedestrian-friendly ambit that mirrors policies in Oslo, Barcelona, and other global cities.&nbsp;</p> <p>According to<em> The Age</em>, a 2019 City Council survey suggests an overwhelming majority (95%) of Melbourne residents support the idea of reducing vehicle traffic in Southbank by 2030.</p>