St. Augustine, Florida
Spring 2005
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Our proposals turned this problem into an opportunity by digging a little deeper…
As “the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the United States,” this Florida city of 12,000 receives six million tourists a year. With a town plan dating back to the 1500s and one building – the Castillo de San Marcos – that survived the British invasion of 1702, St. Augustine has history and charm to spare. The challenge of St. Augustine is to welcome visitors in ways that enhance both their experience and the residents´ lives. No one should ever confuse St. Augustine with Orlando!
Unfortunately, the conventional way of accommodating tourists – plenty of surface parking – diminishes their experience and makes it hard to get around. This studio sought ways to do the seemingly impossible: increase parking capacity while at the same time reducing the area covered by parking lots.
For archaeological reasons, St. Augustine´s unique construction regulations require that any construction in the designated historic zone first be carefully excavated to a depth of four feet. Our proposals turned this problem into an opportunity by digging a little deeper, moving parking underground, and adding automated parking technology to allow increased capacity — thus freeing the surface for new development that´s walkable, compatible with historic local architecture, and welcoming to residents and visitors alike.
