The Value of Creating Beautiful Frescoes and Works of Art in Basement Car Parks
Underground car parks, often perceived as utilitarian and charmless spaces, can easily become austere or even oppressive. Often associated with dark and impersonal areas, these places are nevertheless essential to modern urban life. To break this image and transform these spaces into pleasant and welcoming places, more and more car park managers and architects are incorporating murals and artwork into their design. Investing in art to beautify basement car parks has many practical and aesthetic benefits, ranging from improving the well-being of users to enhancing the value of the building.
1. Make the space more welcoming and aesthetically pleasing
One of the main challenges of underground car parks is their often cold and functional appearance. Raw concrete walls, large, dimly lit spaces, and a lack of decoration can make these places oppressive. The introduction of murals and artwork helps break this monotony by bringing colors, shapes, and visual narratives that make the space more enjoyable. Artistic frescoes can radically transform a car park, making it more warm and welcoming. Bright colours, poetic scenes or abstract patterns add life to generally austere spaces, which immediately enhances the user experience.
2. Improving the well-being of users
Art is proven to have a positive impact on mental well-being. When entering a car park decorated with frescoes, motorists and pedestrians feel more relaxed and reassured. Art can humanize a space that would otherwise be simply utilitarian and potentially anxiety-provoking. Murals can also introduce elements of nature, such as landscapes, forests or oceans, which have a calming effect. By creating attractive visual environments, the feeling of claustrophobia often associated with basement car parks is reduced, by providing a feeling of openness and lightness.
3. Facilitate wayfinding and signage
Frescoes and works of art are not only aesthetically pleasing, they can also have a practical function. In often large and labyrinthine car parks, it can be difficult to find your way around. By using different colours, patterns or artistic themes for each level or area of the car park, users are made easier to find their way around. For example, each floor could be decorated with artwork on a specific theme — nature, the cities of the world, or even works inspired by famous artists — which would allow users to better remember the location of their vehicle. This artistic signage is not only functional but also pleasing to the eye, making the user experience smoother and more enjoyable.
4. Enhance the building and strengthen its image
The integration of art in a basement car park helps to enhance the building as a whole. Whether it’s a residential building, a shopping mall or an office building, the car park is often the first and last place users visit. A carefully decorated car park immediately gives a positive and enhancing image of the place. A building that integrates works of art into its utilitarian spaces shows that it attaches importance to every detail. This reinforces the image of a modern, innovative place that is attentive to the well-being of its users. For companies, it can also reflect values of creativity and boldness, standing out from the competition with a neat and original design.
5. Promoting art and supporting French artists
Car parks often offer large wall areas ideal for artistic expression. These spaces can become open-air art galleries, or rather underground, allowing works to be exhibited on a permanent or temporary basis. By collaborating with artists like those at Atelier Métamorphoze, car park managers can help promote art in unexpected places. Murals in car parks also democratise art by making it accessible to all. Users, whether residents, employees or simple visitors, are thus exposed to works of art in their daily lives, without having to go to a gallery or museum.
And finally to summarize…
Creating beautiful murals and integrating works of art into basement car parks is much more than just an aesthetic approach. It is a way of transforming a utilitarian space into a welcoming and stimulating place, thus improving the user experience. By making these places more aesthetic and pleasant, art contributes to stress reduction, facilitates orientation and enhances the building as a whole. Finally, these initiatives promote art and support local artists, while strengthening the identity and image of the building. In short, art in basement car parks is an investment that benefits everyone. Parking, basement, garages, building, hotel, residence… Would you like to know more about our frescoes, our monumental window displays or our artistic signage ? Let’s get in touch.
