Park Park Launch
On September 1, Calgary’s coolest parking lot opened in Inglewood. The result of process that CMLC led, in partnership with Calgary Parking Authority (CPA), the project has reimagined ‘Lot 43’ at 9th Avenue and 11th Street SE into something entirely new.
Together with our selection committee partners, we chose Public City Architecture Inc. to work with CPA to bring this innovation to life. Aptly named ‘Park Park’, this exciting new take on the humble urban parking lot brings the neighbourhood a dynamic, multi-faceted installation to engage residents and visitors alike.
In addition to plenty of convenient parking—the redesigned lot retains 25 of its original 30 stalls—Park Park features a vibrant mural on its asphalt surface, a scaffolding structure around its perimeter that echoes the rooflines of nearby buildings, and larger-than-life, interactive ‘icons’ offering visual appeal and practical utility—each icon offers something passersby can make use of, including hand-warming and phone-charging stations, a picnic table and a mini community library.
The other firms and teams shortlisted for the project, all with very strong proposals, were:
- Works of Architecture
- MTA (Calgary/Edmonton)
- Modern Office of Design + Architecture
- AZMA
- Ryan Murphy Construction
- Sans façon
- Zeidler Architecture (Calgary)
CPA’s website puts it whimsically: “It’s a place of curiosities made from parks. It’s a parking park, a sitting park, a playing park, a gathering park, a riding park…a park kind of park.” The redesigned lot is open to the public for parking and visiting from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
The space is also available to rent through CPA for events during off-peak hours. Park Park will remain in place for a two-year pilot period.
