Metrolinx, an agency of the Government of Ontario, has transformed Cooksville GO Station, in partnership with Infrastructure Ontario, into an efficient, modern transit hub, making it easier for customers to access the station and GO Transit services. New infrastructure includes a new station, upgraded pedestrian tunnels and rail platforms, east pavilion building with a large civic plaza, a new bus loop and a 1900 commuter-parking structure. Existing underground tunnel links to the central train platform are reused and extended to the new station and parking structure, while a new bridge connection from the parking structure conveniently connects customers to the rail platform. The parking garage is a key component of the mobility hub, an urban landmark as well as edge defining component of the public plaza. It has been designed in response to both present development as well as for anticipated future residential and commercial densification.

The design concept for the six storey parking structure features a layered envelope strategy to overcome the mundane nature of the typical parking structure as well as to provide a shield from car headlights for the surrounding residential development. The precast structure is wrapped by a sculptural veil of expanded aluminum mesh which is inflected and fractured by the vehicle entry points, the glazed vertical circulation towers and pedestrian bridge connection to the rail platforms. This larger folding texture of the façade is complimented by a finer texture of vertical slot openings that provides visual interest at the pedestrian level and from surrounding buildings as well as views from within the structure. Inside the sculptural veil resides an additional inner skin of woven stainless steel mesh that serves as a guard for pedestrians, while a tension cable system serves as a car barrier. This multi-layered system serves to maximize the level of natural light and air entering the building while at the same time mitigating light spillage onto neighboring residential properties. The result is a dynamic facade treatment that both obscures and reveals an otherwise typical parking structure and the vehicular circulation within it.

The overlapping segments of the veil create varying levels of transparency and texture as it is viewed from different angles, and at different times of the day revealing or concealing the skeletal framework of the steel armature that supports it off the precast structure. This characteristic of layering and materiality helps to minimize the impact of vehicular disturbance in what will soon be a dense residential and commercial neighborhood.

2018

2020

LOCATION: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
SITE AREA: 652,236 SF (60,599 SM)
PARKING STRUCTURE BUILDING AREA: 105,265 SF (9,780 SM)
PARKING STRUCTURE HEIGHT: 6 storeys above ground
PARKING STRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION: Precast Concrete
EXTERIOR FAÇADE: Outer Layer: Expanded Aluminum Mesh; Inner Layer: Stainless Steel Woven Mesh; Vertical Circulation Towers: Curtainwall Glazing

OWNER: Metrolinx
DESIGN ARCHITECT: NORR Architects & Engineers Limited. Rolfe Kaartinen, VP Transportation; David Clusiau, VP Design; Arjun Mani, Architectural Designer.
PROJECT ARCHITECT: WalterFedy. Jamie Van Dyk, Principal Architect, Partner.

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