University of Missouri-St. Louis Parking Garage and Master Plan
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Client: University of Missouri-St. Louis
Parsons Brinckerhoff Role: Design, Master Planning
Nestled in a sloped wooded site across from the Barnes College of Nursing, this $5.8 million, 318-vehicle South Campus parking structure serves the university’s nursing college and adjacent Oak Residence Hall. The Parsons Brinckerhoff-designed structure is a 99,650-square-foot (9,260-square-meter), three-story brick and stone clad colonnade with a clock tower that fronts the west side of the structure.This clock tower feature reduces the building’s scale while providing a mediating element that recalls the materials, details, and character of other nearby campus buildings. A matching colonnade and entry portico was also added to the east side of the College of Nursing, dressing up a building that previously seemed at odds with the architecture of its surroundings. These colonnades with adjacent water feature form the sides of an outdoor plaza that create a fitting conclusion to the East Drive roadway and South Campus development.
As part of the South Campus Parking Structure, the university asked the design team to develop a master plan for expanding the property south of the parking structure into a park and recreation area for students living in nearby dormitories. The park includes a natural water habitat formed by modifying the flow of an adjacent creek. The recreation area includes a covered pavilion, forming the southern terminus of the parking structure colonnade that overlooks a planned multi-purpose basketball/tennis court. The fountains and pools that were constructed with the parking structure are the first phase of these future enhanced public facilities.