Q&A: Agnese Sanvito, photographer of multi-storey car parks
Welbeck Street, London
Hi Agnese. How did your Multi-Storey project begin?
When I began, many sites in London were under threat of being demolished due to the increasing land values (in fact, a few have been demolished since). So my first intention was to document them before they disappeared. Then my focus shifted to a deeper interest in the multi-storey car parks, both old and new.
What is it you like about car parks?
I’ve always been interested in finding beauty in the overlooked, and in places that can easily pass unnoticed. And car parks – with their rawness and simplicity – fit that category. Despite their monolithic structure we often overlook them.
Peckham, London
White City, London
Barbican, London
Minories, London
“I’ve always been interested in finding beauty in the overlooked”
Tell us about a couple of your favourites
One is at Pavilion Road [in Knightsbridge, London], which is unfortunately due to be replaced with a hotel. The stripes of the entrances, especially at dusk, look like corrugated metal or fluorescent lights. I also like the car park in Peckham, south London: the pattern of different materials on the rear side makes it quite abstract. It was saved from demolition and repurposed into a workspace with the successful Bold Tendencies exhibition and Frank’s Campari bar on the rooftop. A nice story.
You’re into the ‘typology’ – a common general aesthetic – of car parks. Why?
Because they have the same characteristics while holding their individuality. They all have a skeletal structure with levels, a ramp and openings with alternate blocks of dark and light. But some are bare concrete shells, others have a ‘Guggenheim’-style spiral ramp, while the openings boast different shapes and patterns.
Prater, Vienna
Messe, Vienna
Spittelau, Vienna
Parkhaus A, Vienna
You took a picture of Welbeck Street car park in London’s West End, which graced the cover of Umbrella 15. What did you like about it?
Welbeck Street was a hidden gem away from the chaos of Oxford Street. The geometrical repetition of the concrete ‘V’ shape made the building very sculptural – it wasn’t just for lovers of brutalism. It’s a shame it couldn’t have been given a new life while maintaining its original features.
As well as London, you took a photo of a multi-storey in Miami. Are there subtle differences between car parks in different countries?
Every car park reflects its location. The car park at 1,111 Lincoln Road in Miami despite being a simple open concrete frame, is a monumental structure. And it’s so glamorous and flashy, very Miami! It also includes boutique shops and an event venue – you can get married there. In a country that celebrates car culture, a car park becomes a destination in itself. In the UK there was a proliferation of brutalist car parks built during the post-war period. I also photographed car parks in Vienna where they look more rigorous in their design.
Saffron Hill, London
Town Hall, Birmingham
Pavilion Road, London
Olympic Park, London
Finally, what have you worked on during the pandemic?
With fewer commissions, I’ve had more time to focus on my personal work. In fact, some of the images in this series have been taken in the past year, particularly the London sites I could easily cycle to. I’ve been also working on the New River Path, an enchanted and wild oasis in north London where I regularly return to slow down and spend time in the stillness of nature. With a similar aesthetic to a car park, I take the photos in the early evening, when the magical ‘blue hour’ brings out the beauty and mystery of the place.