The Atlanta design community has been giving old auto garages the treatment recently, particularly in Decatur and other neighborhoods that aim to be more pedestrian-friendly.
Top Left: Menefee+Winer Office, Atlanta (Menefee+Winer Architects)
Top Right: Taqueria del Sol, Decatur (Unknown)
Bottom Left: Leon's Full Service, Decatur (Unknown)
Bottom Right: Fellini's Pizza, Avondale (Unknown)
Garages accommodate rewarding adaptive reuse projects for several reasons: first, their programmatic configuration is versatile and interchangable; second, they tend to be in areas with heavy traffic, pedestrian or otherwise; and third, they are a symbol of the early "modern" auto-centric American lifestyle that, in light of recent events, is coming more into question.
In terms of program, the garage is an extremely versatile building type which is typically divided into three main components. The "back-of-house" area, where employees conduct business, take breaks, etc. resides within an enclosed wing on either side of the lot depending on the orientation. The building mass housing the garage is perpendicular to the back-of-house area and is relatively open, free of any structural clutter to allow for maximum efficiency. The front entry is usually an outdoor pull-up, accessible to cars and sheltered by a large cantilevered overhang.
Restaurants provide some of the best examples of how each of these elements can easily convert to another and function well. The back-of-house area becomes a kitchen, while the garage area--unencumbered by structure, well-ventilated and lit, and facing the street--becomes the main dining room. The front entry can be redeployed as additional seating, a concierge station, a small gift shop, etc., and can be left open or enclosed. Since car access is no longer required, the front lot and traffic areas morph into outdoor seating, patio decks, and landscape features. The above photographic examples are recently-completed works, while below is a hypothetical sketch exercise intended to incorporate and highlight the myriad of design possibilities exhibited in the displayed works.
Garages are also inherently urban. America's love for the automobile in the 1950s and 60s resulted in cities (like Los Angeles and Atlanta) that grew in deference to the desire for suburban living. Garages became integral parts of those types of cities, but as we grow as a society towards a more dense and pedestrian-friendly urbanism, their continued use in city centers becomes less viable. Their urban locations, however, provide a reason to evolve the typology, rather than destroy it, to fit a new generation without losing its character as an essential representation of American culture. Garages are part of our collective identity. They, along with any building, can incite emotion, and since the BP spill has cast the auto industry in such an intensely negative light, it's worth our effort to turn a building that could encourage negativity into one that is a positive contributor to the urban fabric.
(Please feel free to share any other examples of garages of architectural significance. Also, if anyone knows the designers of the garages at the top, enlighten me!)
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