Play to Park: A Garage as Brand Experience

Drawing upon themes of play, movement, and community, the LA Garage is no ordinary parking structure. SRG interpreted our client's globally renowned culture of innovation to design not just a place to park, but an all-encompassing experience. The LA Garage energizes and engages guests and employees first arriving on campus, blending architecture inspired by athleticism with storytelling themes about Los Angeles sports, including the 1984 Summer Olympics and professional L.A. teams. Upending the unremarkable routine of parking in a garage, the design integrates modulation, rhythm, and super-graphics with a play-inspired program featuring a unique, community-oriented courtyard where employees can gather.

 Places for People 

As the place where the transition from driver to pedestrian occurs, the LA Garage is a nexus of activity for people arriving on campus. The design breaks up the typical parking structure mass, providing opportunities for daylight and creating a “wow” space in between: a public, covered courtyard carved into the center of the building that encourages chance encounters, casual gatherings, and collaboration. Surrounded by three sides of backlit glass showing iconic Olympic athletes, the courtyard faces the campus daycare center. Employees and their children can experience playful elements incorporated into the design, such as a slide into the courtyard, rubberized pyramids, a balance beam, and a running track. Furthermore, bikes are provided in the courtyard to easily connect people from the garage to the campus.

Movement and Dynamism 

The LA Garage neither looks nor feels like a garage. Embodying the movement theme, which is key to the client's design culture, exterior walls tilt at an angle to give the elaborate building skin of perforated metal panel and glass a dynamic quality while concealing the cars within. Aligning the panels in a pattern along a diagonal grid creates a sense of leaning, making the building appear ready to spring forward. Layering of the façade elements provides both natural ventilation and adds to the garage’s dynamism. The theme of movement also inspired the site design, which integrates sports and functional program elements to celebrate interaction, activity, fitness, and a healthy lifestyle.

Wayfinding 

Wayfinding is expressed in orange circulation elements for cars and people, which reference the building's external orange-massing reveals. Pronounced entrances act like portals to create a holistic experience of entering, circulating, and exiting the garage. To maximize safety and efficiency, walkways separate pedestrians from drivers, guiding those on foot through the 1,094-car garage to the courtyard. Each level is themed with super-graphics and colors attributed to a different Los Angeles sports team, reinforcing the overall concept while creating an easier and more memorable wayfinding experience.