A few years ago, KTGY’s Research and Development Studio proposed a design concept for repurposing underutilized parking structures for housing. Starting with an existing parking structure from a completed wrap building in San Diego, California, we reimagined the donut-shaped, standalone structure, inserting factory-built steel modules to create a new housing concept: Park House. The proposed Park House design repurposed 1,091 parking spaces to achieve 119 one- and two-bedroom units.

Developing the Park House concept taught us some important things: 1. To effectively adapt a parking garage for residential, large portions of the parking structure must be flat (or very close to flat). 2. Working around the ramp presents a challenge, but its central location makes it a natural fit for the community courtyard space. 3. Distance between floors should be maximized, allowing for at least seven feet of clear height within the units.

Using the 561-space parking structure from a KTGY-designed wrap building located in San Jose, California, as a case study, the Research and Development Studio reimagined how a parking structure could be modified incrementally, creating a phased approach to this adaptive reuse solution.