South Lawn car park, Heritage parking structure at University of Melbourne, Australia.
The South Lawn car park is an underground parking facility beneath the University of Melbourne featuring curved concrete shells with parabolic profiles supported by load-bearing columns. These columns incorporate integrated drainage pipes that irrigate the lawn and trees covering the structure's roof.
Construction of the structure took place between 1971 and 1972 following Bryce Mortlock's 1970 Campus Master Plan for the university. The project represented an ambitious underground design integrated with the campus landscape during that era.
The east entrance displays a preserved door from a 1745 Dublin house, while the west entrance features Atlas figures salvaged from a former Colonial Bank. These architectural elements from other buildings create an unexpected dialogue between past structures and the present site.
The structure is currently closed to vehicle traffic due to ongoing metro rail construction works, though bicycle storage facilities remain available for university users. Visitors should be aware that the main parking function is temporarily unavailable while these construction projects continue.
Engineer Jan van der Molen designed interconnected hyperbolic-paraboloidal platforms that allow large trees to grow directly on the roof structure above the parking facility. This innovative structural approach solved the problem of creating a landscaped surface while supporting the building's structural needs.
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