EDITOR’S COMMENT upfront
PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES
Car park design is not simply functional, despite what many may think – there’s actually a great deal of style, substance and craftsmanship behind these ever-important structures, argues Sarah Juggins
car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car car +
Car parks, As a space, Offer very little poetry
t was one of those rare moments of quiet in the editorial offi ce and I absent- mindedly typed ‘poems about car parks’ into my computer search engine. Imagine my surprise when a whole raft of – admittedly quite dubious quality – poems appeared. The literary composition above appears courtesy of the self- styled ‘Glaswegian blogger’, and seems to suggest that car parks are boring constructions, which fail to offer inspiration. I would refer the
I
Glaswegian blogger and his fellow car parking poets in the direction of our article on pages 20-25, where Phil Lattimore and Hannah Maiden discuss the modern car park and its construction.
Lattimore points out that, just 20 years
ago, car parks were simply concrete structures where people left their cars. They had standards to attain, but these were functional standards of safety, designed to ensure the structure withstood weather, wear and tear and the weight of thousands of vehicles over time.
www.britishparking.co.uk
Today, designers pay far more attention to the appearance of car parks and we have some quite astounding constructions gracing our urban areas. The so-called Cheesegrater car park in Sheffi eld is one such edifi ce. Like many forms of art it has split opinion – but, love it or hate it, the Q-Park-built facility is a million miles away from the grey, uniform constructions of old. The Galleries car park in Bristol was named in the top 10 urban designs of 2011, and Millenium Point car park in Birmingham city centre was named Best Designed Car Park at the 2012 British Parking Awards.
The default status in
any industry is now value for money
But it is not a matter of style over substance. The default status in any industry is now value for money and car park owners are no different. They have high demands of their investments and today’s car parks need to fulfi l many criteria. They must be built to last – effective water-proofi ng is essential; they must be sustainable and energy bills
must be as low as possible; they must look good, but not require constant redecoration – and, as the car park is where people are leaving one of their most valuable assets, they must be safe, not only perceived to be safe. So, I would argue that the car park construction industry is to be applauded for pushing the boundaries of design and incorporating some of the most up-to-date technologies and techniques to ensure that car parks meet 21st-century standards of safety, security and longevity. Now that is something to write home about.
Cashless parking specialists
Live within14 days
Free trials available
NEW SERVICES
Updated smartphone app Driver website relaunch
NEW CONTRACTS “Pay by Cash”
South Somerset Council Basildon Borough Contract London Borough of Bexley
For more information on a free trial contact:
T: 01482 421 097
info@bemroseboothmobile.com www.bemroseboothmobile.com
Join us on:
NOVEMBER 2012
7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52