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Veranda Car ParkVeranda Car Park
Daylight flows into this Rotterdam car park from an open center core that filters light down to the lower parking levels under ground.
To solve the parking problems in the Veranda strip close to the Feyenoord stadium in Rotterdam, Paul de Ruiter was commissioned by the City of Rotterdam Development Corporation (OBR) and Rotterdam City Supervision (STZ), to design a multi-story car park with a high-quality architectonic character. Instead of the cars, people are the central issue of the design.
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As the dimensions of the plot and the height of the building were specified stringently in the zoning plan, the design team for this project decided to locate a large proportion of the parking spaces underground. The Veranda Car Park is organized around a large open area in the middle of building with four parking levels underground and four parking levels above. The ground floor accommodates shops and delis.
The floor plan of the building is trapezium-shaped with rounded corners and the superstructure is offset at an angle to the substructure. The layout of the car park is both simple and efficient. From sloping runways in the middle of the trapezium-shaped floor plan, cars move in a spiral upwards or downwards around the open center. The parking space is arranged both along the outer walls and beside the central open area and sloping runway. Alongside the straight ascending or descending route that naturally follows when looking for a parking space, there is also a fast circular route for exiting from the four parking levels above ground. The parking levels are accessible to pedestrians via a glass panoramic lift that ascends in the central open area.
The primary function of the central open area is to allow light and air to penetrate into the car park, to improve the ambience of the underground levels. The white ceilings, floors, walls, and pillars of the interior, and the light artwork that is incorporated into the structure, reinforce the permeation of light. Even underground, visitors can find their bearings, because they can look upwards to the sky and retain a link with the outer world. The placement of circular routes running upward and downwards around the central open area allows visitors to always see where the cars and people are.
Formal name of building:
Veranda Car Park
Location:
Siem Heidenstraat 6, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Design: January 2002
Completion Date: March 2005
Gross square footage: 20.000 m2 parking (650 parking places); 500 m2 café and restaurant; 500m2 shopping space
Owners:
City of Rotterdam Development Corporation (OBR) and Rotterdam City Supervision (STZ)
Architect:
Architectural Office Paul de Ruiter b.v.
Leidsestraat 8-10
1017 PA Amsterdam NL
tel: +31-20-6263244
fax: +31-20-6237002
www.paulderuiter.nl
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