Car in the SKY?

CAR IN THE SKY: As sky garages slowly make its way to the region, NST RED explores the concept of parking your car right next to your high-rise unit

For those who favour landed homes over high-rise living, one major argument has always been that high-rises lack the traditional feeling of a ‘home’. For some, it’s about having a patch of grass — or thatch, as the case may be — to call your own and agonise about weeding every other weekend. For others, it’s about being able to walk out your door straight into your garage or driveway where your car is parked, without having to waste time walking to your parking spot some distance away.

Unless of course, your apartment comes with a ‘sky garage’.

Driving home upstairs

At the heart of it, the concept of en-suite parking brings an element of ‘landed’ appearance to high-rises. For homeowners, the main attraction of opting for a unit with en-suite parking facilities is the ‘home’ feel that comes with being able to park right outside where you live. “Sky garages try to make high-rise living similar to that of landed homes,” says KL See, director of Metro Homes real estate and property agency. “We now have sky bungalows and sky semi-dee houses and a sky garage forms part of the unique features.”

Despite the novel concept, the technology behind it is quite conventional. The idea is not unlike the novelty of having a private lift to your apartment — only this one is big enough to fit your car in. Notably, many implementations of the concept also see advanced recognition technology to verify owners’ identity.

Most residential high-rises featuring sky garages provide car lifts that carry both car and driver up. An example is the 19-storey 200 11th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, where residents would drive up to a special gate where an electronic reader would open the gate after verifying the car — akin to our Smart Tag scanners. As the gate closes behind the entering car, another gate leading to the car lift would automatically open for entry.

Once inside the car lift, the driver would be reminded to turn off the engine as infrared sensors keep track of the car’s position. Occasionally, the driver may be asked to adjust the car’s position by driving slightly forward or backward as needed. Then the lift would automatically go to the driver’s floor where he or she would reverse the car out of the lift into the garage space adjoining his or her apartment — arriving home immediately after stepping out of the car.

Of course, different developers and designers invariably apply their own distinctive touches and styles to the specific workings of their sky garages. Hamilton Scotts in Singapore, for instance — reportedly the first to feature the concept in Asia — uses a biometric scanner to read the resident’s thumbprint before instructing the car lift to send the car up to the resident’s en-suite sky garage. Additionally, the driver would have to ride up in a separate lift that is still within the view of the car lift.

Pros and cons

Apart from bringing an element of landed living to the increasingly more common high-rise residences today, sky garages appear to embody the human desire for novelty and exclusivity. Even those whose address lies in the prestigious urban areas of the city can’t always claim that they have the luxurious convenience of being able to drive straight to their doorstep, as landed homes are increasingly a rarity given spiralling land costs today.

Additionally, many sky garages are separated from the living rooms of their respective apartment units by only a glass panel, allowing their owners to show off their sexy Aston Martins or shiny Lamborghinis whenever guests are around. “It is nice especially for those car lovers who can see their nice vehicles from the living area,” comments Metro Homes chief See.

The aesthetics extend further, in fact, to the building design itself. “Sky garages reduce the levels of car park podium required as garages are located inside the unit itself or next to it,” explains See. “The building in fact is nicer this way, rather than our conventional five levels of car park podiums before reaching the facilities floor followed by the typical layout floor.”

Incorporating such a feature does not seem like an especially difficult undertaking for any willing developer. According to Ar Dr Tan Loke Mun, Director of ArchiCentre, the only special consideration in the process is the “vertical transportation lift to carry the car.” Such a consideration, says realtor See, is not a problem for today’s technology but he also adds that its pros and cons as well as potential long-term benefits warrant consideration before implementing the concept.

The concept is not without critics, however, perhaps given the subjective nature of its value to homeowners. “Why would you need to have a car garage high up in the sky?” asks Dr Tan, who is also Past President of the Malaysian Institute of Architects. “It is totally not in line with the current trends and growing awareness of sustainability and green.”

Indeed, in light of the growing preference among homeowners towards green and energy-efficient home features, the additional costs required for sky garages appear forefront on the list of negatives when it comes to sky garages. “They are costly to build and maintain as it involves a mechanical system to lift the car up to the upper levels,” remarks See. “It also takes a longer time to move the car to/from the garage especially during peak hours.”

In addition to the sheer cost of building and maintaining the facilities, risks also appear greater in the event things go wrong — a malfunction may see your supercar stuck on the 20th storey just when you needed to drive somewhere urgently. Security also comes into consideration if the residential unit concerned is rented and not owned, according to See of Metro Homes. “It can be dangerous too because if any accident occurs, the entire building might be at risk.”

Trend or fad?

Looking at developments featuring sky garages around the world, it appears to be the realm of the uber-rich as most of the developments have very low density as well as expensive price tags — 200 11th Avenue in Manhattan is a 19-story building consisting of a mere 14 units, which have sold for between US$3 million (RM9.12 million) and US$32 million (RM97.28 million). Hamilton Scotts in Singapore has 56 units comprised within 30 storeys with prices starting at SG$7.9 million (RM19.45 million).

With Malaysia set to see its first residential development featuring sky garages in Iskandar, Johor, will sky garages become more commonly offered in Malaysia as the next main selling point for high-end projects?

“I believe it would start as a mere luxury feature for the next 5 –10 years. Once we have a proven and established system for sky garages, then more developers might adopt the concept,” opines See from Metro Homes. “Even if it is implemented, it will mostly be located in the downtown high-end areas where land is limited or where there are few constraints in its implementation. Otherwise, most builders would still be happy with conventional parking facilities.”

Indeed, increased costs for incorporating the feature as well as the design considerations and other factors mean sky garages may be more trouble than it is worth for most developers in Malaysia. This means sky garages may not become more than an expensive rarity occasionally found in selected exclusive developments. However, it is interesting to note that a similar concept of using lifts to move vehicles to and from the car park podium is already seen in Malaysia such as in Menara Genesis in Kuala Lumpur as well as the upcoming Times Avenue Tower, which is set to feature the country’s first fully automated valet parking system.

“There are vertical car parking ‘silos’ that have been used in city centres with limited land such as in Seoul, Korea. But for condos, it is just a novelty,” says Dr Tan from ArchiCentre, who is also an Adjunct Professor in Architecture at Universiti Putra Malaysa. “The only valid reason that I can think of is if you were super concerned about security and privacy such as if you were Batman!”

Future of sky garages?

Practicality aside, the fact remains that those who can afford it enjoy the novel concept of being able to park at one’s own doorstep while living in a high-rise. Asians are no exception, based on Hamilton Scotts in Singapore which sold well, says See.

Value-wise, how much does a sky garage influence the pricing of the entire unit and its price appreciation potential?

“It is very difficult to put a value to it because luxury items and new innovations cannot be valued based on past history as it does not have any prior benchmark,” elaborates See. “For sure, the developer would sell the garage as part of the building built-up unlike accessory parcels in a conventional condominium. The cost of maintaining the mechanical system will be borne by all residents alike similar to common properties within the condo.”

It should be noted that sky garages are basically parking facilities and therefore may not have the same per square foot valuation as the rest of the actual accommodation. Not that it would matter much to those who can afford such properties. For them, no price is too high for the convenience of doorstep parking or pride of owning a sky garage in the middle of a densely populated urban area.

“It will be good to see how it will be implemented in Malaysia,” See of Metro Homes says. “It will definitely attract the elite group of the society and car lovers.”

On the other hand, architect Dr Tan is averse to the concept, seeing it as a step in the wrong direction. “I would not do it as I am waiting for the day when cars get restricted from entering communities and cities. Hopefully, one day the car will be made obsolete when all buildings in cities become fully interconnected and linked with an integrated public transportation system.”