"The focus was on functionality, safety, compatibility with the existing Chesapeake Energy campus architecture, and reinvention of the typical parking garage image while making it fun for the daily users of this garage."
Elliott + Associates Architects
To achieve this goal the architect's team created a concept, that followed certain guidelines:
1. We will “store” 791 cars with 4 levels.
2. The exterior skin must be a minimum of 20% open by code.
3. Make the building unrecognizable as a parking garage. At first glance it will appear as an office building.
4. Devise a way so that the cars are not visible from the outside during daytime or nighttime.
5. Make the exterior respond to the constantly changing light and color of the Oklahoma sky.
6. The structure will “connect” to campus and not duplicate.
7. Think “Brick Shadow” and soft / sky reflections.
8. Make the architectural mass “dissolve” into the sky.
To achieve a homogenous surface with only 25% open area, Haver & Boecker designed a new mesh specification using slightly crimped flat wires: LARGO-PLENUS 2022 made from Stainless Steel T316.
Small gaps between panels provide minimal interference for the integrity of the mesh facade.
In full sunlight the mesh facade appears fully opaque and the building is not recognizable as a parking garage. To further accentuate the structure, aluminum tubes have been added to the south and east elevation, which create interesting reflections on the mesh itself.
The area of the parking garage exceeds the standard lot size of the Chesapeake Campus; therefore black wire mesh panels indicate the regular lot size and separate the north and south elevation.
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