Location:
Birmingham
Value:
£4.1m
Scope:
Design & Build
Clegg managed the construction of a new multi-storey car park on the University of Birmingham's Edgbaston campus. The site is adjacent to the Gisbert Kapp building and 52 Pritchatts Road, both refurbished by Clegg Construction in 2010.
The project was completed to a high-quality finish and is a welcome addition to the campus, which welcomes thousands of visitors each year.
The car park utilises a steel-framed design and uses the patented Hill Cannon Vertical Circulation Module to provide 492 parking spaces within a small footprint.
The elevational treatments respond to the adjacent Gisbert Kapp building through the use of a terracotta rain-screen cladding system on aluminium support frames.
Challenge 1: Live university campus adjacent to occupied high-rise building: We established and maintained a positive relationship with key representatives from the adjacent building; this was instrumental in ensuring the site team stayed abreast of significant dates for the university, including term times, graduation events, and exams – allowing us to make any necessary modifications to the project programme well in advance, thus helping to further minimise the impact of construction activities. CFA (Continuous flight auger) was determined as the best piling method to reduce risk of vibrational damage to the adjacent building. Noise, dust and vibration monitoring processes were implemented to help further reduce disruption.
Challenge 2: Ground issues: Prior to starting on site, Clegg engaged with a specialist to undertake/commission a comprehensive Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) survey to determine any risk of unexploded items of ordnance embedded in the ground. The results of the survey deemed the site to be at medium/high risk of this, with Clegg further instructing a pre-probe survey to identify ‘ferris objects’ as part of our UXO mitigation plan.
Challenge 3: Constrained site: The university wanted to optimise space to accommodate the growing number of students, staff, and visitors to campus. Despite spatial constraints, this was achieved through close collaboration with the site and project team – and to ‘Park Mark’, Safer Parking Scheme standards – by allowing for minimal circulation space that would allow vehicles to navigate the car park and move in and out of bays with ease, without compromising on available car parking space (in accordance with the patented Hill Cannon Vertical Circulation Module).
The car park was designed with a low-use energy strategy that incorporated LED lighting to Park Mark standards. The cladding system was designed to maximise natural ventilation across each storey, mitigating unnecessary spend on bulky mechanical ventilation systems
The car park was designed to meet ‘Park Mark’, Safer Parking Scheme standards with processes put in place to help deter criminal activity and create a safer environment for users. As a result, the British Parking Association (BPA) were involved in the sign-off process alongside other project stakeholders, and deemed the new car parking facilities to meet stringent assessment guidelines which cover quality management, appropriate lighting, and effective surveillance.
