Park Square at Doral completed a new parking garage in 2009 for its office and retail development in Doral, Florida. Using woven metal fabrics from GKD-USA, project developer, Shoma Development Corporation, and architect, Zyscovich Architects, were able to produce a unique, durable and aesthetically pleasing parking garage.
“Because the parking garage is intermixed with office buildings and retail, it is important that the parking garage be aesthetically pleasing. Along with aesthetics, our client also wanted us to design a garage with easy maintenance and open ventilation- all for a reasonable price,” said Zyscovich Architect’s Principal and Director of Design, Suria Yaffar, Assoc. AIA.
To help keep project costs down, GKD worked with project manager Adriana Santana to incorporate its woven metal fabrics into the design. This helped meet the owner’s budget requirements, and the materials were easy to maintain and provided the open ventilation that was needed for the parking facility.
The design of the garage called for a multi-dimensional, “checkerboard” pattern. To create the checkered appearance, 104 panels (26,000 square feet) of a custom varied weave of GKD’s Omega 1500, 1520 and 1570 were utilized on the garage’s concrete and stucco exterior. The rectangular-shaped panels varied in width and density, which was critical for forming the pattern. This metal fabric was produced using computer controlled weaving looms in Germany, ensuring that the resulting product met the architect’s exact specifications. Each bay panel was installed to mirror the one adjacent to it, giving the appearance that the shades of the fabric are changing and creating a multi-dimensional look that urges onlookers to do a double take.
Contributing to the overall success of the design was the careful alignment of the panels. Greg Harding, an internal engineer for GKD-USA, was on site to help with the measurements. Harding said, “It’s difficult to make something fit together like this. The computer controlled weaving looms ensured nearly exact measurements that enabled the pattern to fit together perfectly upon arrival in Doral. The exact coordination we were able to achieve was really phenomenal. The exterior of the parking garage looks like a work of art.”
“GKD representatives were instrumental in making this project a success. They bent over backwards for us, helping us find the perfect product to fit our design needs. They brought in extra representatives to explain their woven metal fabric. This kind of genuine service is unique – it was remarkable and memorable,” said Santana.
Besides meeting the design specifications, one of the biggest challenges the team who worked on the Park Square at Doral parking garage faced was meeting the Miami Dade wind load requirements. Due to its location, approximately ten minutes from Miami, the parking garage needed to be able to withstand a Category 4 Hurricane with winds up to 146 mph. The location and height of the building were factored into the design of the mesh as wind load requirements were taken into account. GKD installed brackets and tensioning springs to create an elastic effect to help withstand an intense wind load.
“GKD metal fabrics are built to last a long, long time. We use innovation and engineering to make sure the installation hardware and installation techniques complement the robust nature of the product,” said Leon Shockley, director of field operations for GKD-USA. “It’s strong stuff.”
Just one glance at the parking garage in Park Square at Doral is enough to see that it’s no average parking garage. “Although GKD products have clad many parking garages, this particular project was pioneer work for later applications,” said Shockley. “From artistic design to new functionality, and innovative ideas, the project at Park Square at Doral has laid the groundwork for a new and dynamic way of looking at something relatively simple, such as a parking garage, and making it into a work of art.”
Photography © GKD / DVDesign