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Southern Connecticut State University Parking Garage

New Haven, Connecticut

Fusco Corporation Contract Manager

200,760 square foot/ 600-Car Garage
The site of the new 200,000 square foot, 600-car parking garage is located at the north end of the Fitch Street campus. The design treats the garage as landscape and sculpture, defining a bold new entry and a memorable portal and gateway to the University. The facade consists of a pattern of openings which transform the warehouse quality of typical parking structures into a more humane space in a style consistent with other campus buildings. A pedestrian bridge over Fitch Street, a main campus avenue, is another important gateway opportunity for transformation.

The garage is designed to the scale of the road and the scale of the pedestrian. It is based on the visual idea of revealing itself at different rates of speed both vehicular and pedestrian. The design treats the garage as landscape and sculpture, defining a new entry and a memorable portal and gateway to the University.

The main vertical circulation, stairs, and elevators are located to reinforce the "north gateway" role of the garage and to animate the building composition. They create a convenient path to internal campus pedestrian circulation. Because the design utilizes all standard pre-cast components of the manufacturer, this garage was able to be built at a most The architectural concept treats the garage as a large scale sculpture, forming an important gateway to the campus. It presents a major facade to the public along a busy campus edge, and is part of the first impression of the campus when approached from the northeast. The facade material is masonry which compliments the adjacent buildings and which is consistent with the overall campus vernacular. Its design is developed with a pattern of openings that transform the "warehouse" quality of typical parking structures into a more humane space.