Composite completes 4-storey car park and supermarket for Waitrose adjacent to busy railway line.
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Architect:
Nightingale Associates
Engineer:
Arup
Quantity Surveyor:
Turner and Townsend
Contractor:
BAM Construction
Client:
Welsh Health Estates
934-space staff car park
Staff safety a priority
Deliveries via 'live' hospital access route
Park Mark Safer Parking standards
This three-storey staff car park forms part of a framework for the Welsh Health State and Welsh Assembly Government. Its construction has meant that existing surface car parks have been freed up for patient and visitor use.
Providing 934 spaces, the facility is used 24 hours a day by staff so with a precast concrete frame creating a light and airy environment their safety is not compromised
. Indeed, the layout design was developed so that it provides easy access, egress and parking, as well as security, for staff members and their vehicles
. All of which assisted in the car park achieving Park Mark Safer Parking standards
.
Composite’s single prop frame design incorporates a row of columns located towards the front of every third parking bay on one side of the traffic aisle only. As well as providing a cost-effective solution
, with all materials having to pass along a ‘live’ hospital access route, the use of such a frame configuration kept component and,
therefore, delivery load sizes to a minimum
.
The use of 260mm and 200mm hollowcore floor units helps create the flat soffit effect that enhances the ambience
within the car park and is beneficial when distributing services
. Together with the precast concrete framing and structural screed they formed the car park structure, external ramp configuration and stair/lift core areas.
Being 88.85m long, a movement joint was incorporated
into the structural design to cater for differential thermal movement.
Galvanised handrailing fixed to the top of the 450mm-high precast concrete spandrel panels creates the statutory 1100mm-high perimeter upstand. The spandrels act as an integral crash barrier
within the frame, thereby negating the need for any secondary system
.
With solid, ledge-free precast concrete components used throughout, birds and vermin are unable to form nests or create mess within the building
. This minimises health risks to people
– an important factor in a hospital environment – and damage to vehicles
.
Before selecting Composite, BAM visited Gloucester Docks (see separate case study) to assess the appearance and quality of the precast concrete multi-storey car park built in 2005. They also decided to draw upon the company’s experience in the total construction of car parks and extended the scope of works to include for the waterproofing, above ground drainage, handrailing, steel staircases together with the masonry and brickwork to create the core areas. This lead to a smooth interface between all of these superstructure materials and those supplied by others
.
In total, Composite was on site for 22 weeks
, with the structural frame, forming a total suspended area over two levels of 10,410m².
