The Vehicle or the Horse?

The car is an evolutionary step up from the horse. Before cars came along, some valued their horses more than just as a mode of transport, so beautiful stables were built for security and to care for the owner’s pride and joy. This tradition continues on today as its almost unheard of to design houses without a fully enclosed garage for your cars.
WOLF Architects love our cars. We see them as more than just a vehicle and in some of our homes the car is integral to the design of the house. Even if you don’t want a car visible from your living room, or a car lift to open up directly into your apartment, the vehicle you choose to drive needs to integrate into the house, apartment block or office with ease. When we think about creating a “car space”, we consider the groceries that need to be brought in, the sports bags that children carry, and the sleeping baby that needs to be carried to bed. Only when all aspects of our client’s life has been considered has the brief of living a graceful, well designed and uplifting life been achieved. Parking your car on the street, exposed to thieves, vandals and the weather, then dashing into your home in the pouring rain leaves much to be desired.
The congestion with cars parked on our roads and side streets is only getting worse, so to have off street parking only enhances our lives.
Narrow blocks or old Victorian terrace houses can be challenging. Without cross overs already present, council permission has to be sought and this process can be tedious. Nevertheless the reward of bringing a block of land a new cross over, giving the home owners an opportunity to park under cover and easing the transition from outside to in, is well worth the wait.
In creating basements that hold multiple cars we have to allow for the ease of traffic, with turning circles of large 4WDs and even boats considered.
Tandem parking isn’t ideal when one person can’t leave home without requiring another to move their vehicle. Car lifts as an alternative are growing in popularity, and their use in homes or apartments can provide better solutions for tight spaces.
Our role as your architect is to you about the things that you might not consider in order to deliver a home that works hard to bring you tranquillity every day. The motor vehicle is so much more than just a car to us- You wouldn’t leave your horse and carriage out in the rain, so why the motor vehicle!
Read more blogs about cars

• Living the life
• Unique Cars magazine issue 309, Taras Wolf’s 1968 Mercedes Benz 280SL Pagoda
• Architecture for cars and car enthusiasts!
• Why Mercedes?