Building on What’s Already Built

The area’s large, open manufacturing floors offer an interesting opportunity to increase density in a different way.

Why not consider adding lightweight residential storeys to some of these buildings, wherever the existing structures can support them? This could accommodate new residents without having to build new streets, while making the most of existing infrastructure. Some of the new housing could be designated as affordable housing, improving access to housing for people who work in the area.

This would also be a way to introduce a more complete living environment into a neighbourhood historically devoted to employment and production. More residents would bring new needs: schools, daycare centres, local shops, sports facilities and gathering places.

And What About Parking?

This is obviously an unavoidable question. Businesses need parking, as do their employees, and the arrival of new residents would create additional demand.

But does that mean we need to preserve all these large, paved areas?

One possibility would be to consolidate some of the parking spaces into a few multilevel parking structures, potentially built using timber or hybrid construction. Underground parking could also free up the surface for gardens and public spaces.

Several projects, such as Park ’n’ Play in Copenhagen and the parking garages in Miami’s Design District, show that a parking structure can also be an interesting building in its own right, with complementary uses and a meaningful contribution to the urban environment.

There’s also an economic consideration. Building a parking garage is expensive, but freeing up land can create significant value for both property owners and the neighbourhood. A closer look at actual needs, costs and opportunities to share parking among businesses, employees and residents would clearly be needed.