The five-storey Campbelltown Station Commuter Carpark in Sydney's south west is one-of-three winners in the built outcomes category at the Australian Urban Design Awards.
The colourful building, by Hill Thalis architecture is designed around a central courtyard and surrounded by eucalypts, with open sides to encourage airflow.
Architect Philip Thalis hopes it will provide some pleasure for commuters facing long trips from Campbelltown station.
"It could be seen as a prosaic commission for a car park, but we've tried to make a really joyful public building," he said.
The awards were announced Tuesday night at Parliament House in Canberra.
Other category winners were Melbourne community arts precinct Balam Balam Place by Kennedy Nolan architects, and the redevelopment of the city's St Kilda pier by Jackson Clements Burrows.
The 500-space Campbelltown car park has been open since the end of September, with electric vehicle charging powered by rooftop solar, as well as bicycle parking.
What's more, the structure is adaptable, with the ground floor able to be retrofitted for a cafe and shops, while stairs have been designed so they can be dismantled and re-erected.
Because buildings act as carbon sinks, they should no longer be recklessly demolished, Thalis said.
"It's quite important we design them like the old warehouses, to have quite a flexible structure so they can be adapted rather than demolished," he said.
The $25 million development, which also included a ground-level car park completed in 2023, was funded by the federal government.
One thing the multi-storey car park hasn't been designed to accommodate is the increasing prevalence of bigger cars.
That would be a waste of space according to Thalis, who opposes an upcoming revision of national standards for off-street car park spaces from 5.4 to 5.6 metres.
"You shouldn't change the rules to pander to bad practice," he said.
"Environmentally, that would be absolutely the worst thing we could do."
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