CAR PARK CONSTRUCTION
FEATURE
machines to ventilation and lighting – effectively using only the power that’s needed at a certain time.
Keeping things watertight Ensuring the integrity of the car park structure with high-quality waterproofi ng is also a fundamental issue. There has been a lot of development in waterproof membrane technology over recent years. Getting the best possible waterproofi ng solution at the construction stage should ensure long-term protection of the facility, minimising degradation due to water and other weather damage, prolonging building life and reducing overall maintenance bills. A variety of proprietary complete waterproofi ng solutions are on the market, from companies such as Trifl ex and Sika, offering a range of protection options for exposed external decks, internal decks, joints and so on.
These can be applied to refurbishments as well as on new builds, with systems that can work on top of existing older concrete or asphalt surfaces, minimising disruption, lost revenue and maintenance costs.
Historically, asphalt has been used on exposed decks as a waterproof coating, but membranes now offer an alternative waterproofi ng option that also keeps weight down on the construction. On intermediate decks, designers are now specifying deck coatings to combat issues of water being traffi cked in and chlorides from the surrounding roads, which ultimately cause corrosion of the embedded reinforcements. Surfacing and deck coatings in modern car parks are also increasingly being geared to improving the customer experience, particularly with the car park acting as a ‘gateway’ to an eye-catching new retail or leisure development. These can now be incorporated into the surfacing of a facility as part of a complete solution that provides a brighter, more welcoming and user-friendly environment. These can be cleaned and maintained more easily than traditional concrete surfaces. Peter Cowlard, technical director at Makers Construction, a leading structural refurbishment company specialising in the car park sector, explains: ‘It’s a twofold thing. Firstly, owners and operators are
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AIR QUALITY
Ventilation is another area where, by implementing the latest smart technology in design and construction, new car parks can reduce carbon footprint and cut costs at the same time. Ventilation is, of course, essential in fully enclosed car parks to bring fresh air in and then extracting harmful pollutants, including carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides and other vehicle-related fumes. They’re also critical for effectively dispersing smoke in the event of a fi re.
Building in systems for monitoring air
quality with sensors and alarms, and automatically adjusting ventilation as required, can be more cost-effective than having a simple ‘on/off’ ventilation system with fans running constantly all day. While ventilation systems are still the main way of controlling pollutions in car parks, a recent – and relatively straightforward to implement – innovation has been the development of mineral- based paint that can absorb some of the pollutants generated by vehicles in car parks (see p24-25 for more information).
now realising that car parks have to look nice, to attract people into them, and secondly it has the benefi t of structural protection.’
There is an increasing awareness now about the issue of longevity of new car parks. Cowlard says: ‘The 1960s and early ‘70s car parks are starting to struggle now because of chloride ingress and corrosion of reinforcements. Owners and asset managers are now saying “if we put these in on day one, then we should hopefully stop that problem from occurring”.’
Upping the quality
The major investment in new car parking facilities over recent years has certainly been refl ected in the rise in quality of new facilities.
Herring concludes: ‘Even in the last
fi ve years, the technology and product range has come on so much that all of the things we’re talking about now are becoming commonplace. ‘The planning authorities put conditions on planning consent that you have to abide with “safer by design” best practice, and ideally get a Park Mark. That has made a difference to the quality of the car parks.
‘But the proof will be in 30 years’ time when we look at something that was built now – will it be like going into an old post-war car park in London now? It’s how well they are maintained in the longer term that dictates that, and the level of investment that people are willing to make to maintain that asset.’
NOVEMBER 2012 23
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