BEAUTIFUL PARKING

Once upon a time the parking garage was created as a dark place filled with sinister shadows and exhaust fumes. But it doesn't have to be that way. Over the past few years some of the best parking garages have been designed and constructed to be more like parking palaces, as architects focus their design creativity on making the inner-city garage an aesthetic contributor to our urban experience.

BERLIN CENTRAL STATION

The new Berlin Hauptbahnhof designed by von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp) is Europe's largest and newest train station — a large "cathedral" of glass and steel. Linking major lines from all directions, the Berlin Central Station has been on the boards for 11 years, but with typical German efficiency, was completed within two weeks of the 2006 World Cup games. Yet one could say that the station had been in the planning stages for nearly a century.

LONDON ALPINE

Continuing a tradition of innovative structures at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in West London is the new Davies Alpine House by Wilkinson Eyre Architects. It is the first glasshouse to be constructed at the World Heritage Site for over 20 years and is a showcase of design and engineering, specially conditioned to support an alpine ecology.

LA COLOR SCHOOL

From her desk, Dena Primary Center principal Patricia Romero can watch children playing in the central courtyard. She also uses the vantage point to admire this new campus that is nestled in a densely populated neighborhood of East Los Angeles. Rachlin Architects have designed an elliptical amphitheater-style courtyard bordered by an administrative complex and two multipurpose buildings.

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