“Car park linked to Dubai’s impressive Ibn Battuta Gate”

Car parks aren’t usually a top priority for architects. They often consist of no more than some tar slapped onto a flat surface and dissected with white lines or, at the most, a bleak multi-storey maze of concrete pillars. But as the demands of drivers and cities change, putting ever more pressure on both the designer and their resources, the humble car park has had to step up. The 10 parking garages assembled here all have a fresh take on a staid concept and run the whole gamut from the brilliant to the downright weird. Robot Car Park – Dubai, UAE Drive up to the car park linked to Dubai’s impressive Ibn Battuta Gate and you could be forgiven for thinking it nothing more than a single garage. But behind its unpretentious facade hides the world’s largest robot car park – capable of storing 765 vehicles and dealing with a staggering 250 cars an hour. Read the full story or download the pdf file.