Don’t you hate it when your car collection outgrows the parking available at your 1930s-designed Georgian mansion? That was the problem faced by an unnamed homeowner in Melbourne, who contracted local architecture firm Molecule to solve the problem. One of the requirements was that the home’s “heritage quality and evident beauty” be respected (i.e., no Modernist Ferris Bueller garage next door, please.) Here’s how Molecule attacked the problem: Accommodating a collection of cars was a central challenge. The house in its existing state was beautifully sited and scaled on its grounds; we felt that any increase in visual bulk would injure this balance and a commitment was made to treat the garaging as a ‘shadow’, concealing it in basement format below the existing tennis court and gardens. Excavating was no problem–it’s only money, folks–but there was also the issue of how to provide ingress and egress for the Benzies and their friendsies. The solution was to create a hidden entrance on the tennis courts: Note that the lid for the hydraulic lamp starts on the baseline portion of the court; I assume they kept natural turf on the court proper to avoiding messing with an in-play ball’s bounce. As for the garage’s interior, Molecule took some cues from a certain vigilante: The secrecy of the underground world introduced notions of an architectural alter-ego, an alternative character that could offer the project its modern-day relevance. The indelible image of Bruce Wayne’s garage in The Dark Knight became a totem of the design approach, sponsoring the Batman-inspired naming of the project as the Wayne Residence. Here’s a still from the movie they used for inspiration: And here’s what they came up with for the actual residence: Bad-ass, no? Those banks of lights, by the way, can be isolated over the individual cars, while LED strips in the floor give it that added light bling: All that’s missing is the floor turntable, but by the looks of it, the owner doesn’t need it; look how perfectly dead-center within the boundaries those cars are parked! Via Open Journal
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Architecture Firm Designs Batcave-Inspired Carpark, Complete with Hidden Entrance, Under This Stately Manse
