Studio E Architects and IPD were selected to design a 1260 car parking garage for a site on the UCSD Medical Campus. The two design firms combined their expertise on the McCarthy Contractors led Design/Build pursuit.
Aerial view of the proposed parking facility at UCSD Medical Campus. Rendering by Shimahara Illustration.
Three teams were selected through an RFQ process to demonstrate how best to spend the stipulated $20 million budget. In addition to providing parking for both UCSD Medical Center staff and patients – the constrained site also had to accommodate two 1.2 million gallon thermal energy storage tanks. The McCarthy/Studio E/IPD team emerged victorious in proposing a solution that created a large void in the center of the structure that both concealed the big tanks from the perimeter and introduced a swath of daylight into the heart of the seven-story garage. Inside the garage, the tanks become a dynamic visual feature – as they will be clad in a color-shifting iridescent paint normally used for hot rods (an appropriate reference for a building made to shelter cars), and will be set amid a grove of palms and grasses inspired by nearby coastal canyons.
Street level view of the proposed parking facility at UCSD Medical Campus. Rendering by Shimahara Illustration.
Construction is set to begin in 2015.