Continuing Education Courses

​The parking component of a development is typically considered a “necessity,” but have you considered how much the first and last impressions count? This course shows how automated technology turns parking into an all-around winning proposition through increased ROI, unsurpassed safety for drivers and vehicles, sustainable design with a drastically reduced environmental footprint, and a premium valet experience.

Upon completion of this course, the Learner should be able to:

• Describe and compare the features of mechanical and automated parking and identify the characteristics of an effective and reliable automated parking system.
• Discuss how automated parking maximizes the viability and livability of urban development through reduced use of land and traffic congestion.
• Describe how to create a crime-free parking structure using the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategy.
• Discuss how efficient use of parking technology is sustainable and reduces the carbon footprint of parking facilities.
• Discuss how automated parking systems are fully equipped for transportation needs of the future, such as smart cities and emerging technologies.

Learn more about this free AIA CE course.

What is automated parking and its future in the US? Without a doubt, the United States likes to go big. We are the home of Mount Rushmore, Disneyland, and the Whopper. We are the birthplace of Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon. The movie industry grew up here. We are an economic and military powerhouse. The rate of entrepreneurship is staggering. We have big vehicles, big houses, and big dreams.

But with some emerging trends, we lag. This is the case when it comes to automated parking systems, which are robotic or automatic systems that park cars without human intervention using precisely calibrated machinery and software. These innovative parking systems save valuable urban space, create the highest use for land, increase ROI for developers, improve the environment, delight drivers, and are primed to mesh with future technologies. Research and Markets research firm estimated that the global market for automated parking in 2019 was $1.3 billion and forecasts the global market to grow to $3.6 billion by 2027.

The acceptance of automated parking will likely be driven by architects working in the best interest of developers to achieve the highest and best use for any new or retrofitted project. While U.S. residents have become accustomed to the fumes, danger, and inconvenience of conventional parking garages, there is every likelihood that they will one day embrace this technology as thoroughly as they have embraced the push-button ease of elevators. For the best ROI for land development, it is incumbent on architects and developers to give robotic parking systems serious consideration, changing the dynamics of land use.

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What is in the contract? This important document contains the guiding principles in any project, before, during, and after design and construction. When it comes to an automatic parking system (APS), however, there is no widely accepted standard contract to guide a project from inception to completion.

This course provides elements from such a contract. The model contract demonstrates the importance of providing neutral, comprehensive, and industry contract specifics and specs that—in the interest of all involved from users, owners, planners, and providers—are vital for the success of automatic parking in general. In addition, the course presents a comprehensive case study of the largest APS in the world that was successfully executed—manufactured in the United States, delivered overseas, and installed—using the model contract expanded upon here.

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If you’re an architect, engineer or other professional involved in commercial real estate, and have asked yourself the question, what is automated parking and how can it benefit my parking project we can help.