Parking with a golden edge 

On the NDSM wharf in Amsterdam, on the site where ships used to be repaired, as many as 4,000 homes of all shapes and sizes will be built. Parking for residents will largely be provided under the residential buildings, while visitors and users of the commercial facilities can use two strategically placed mobility hubs for this purpose. The first mobility hub, BinnenDok, provides space for 525 parking spaces, commercial spaces, catering facilities and a large bicycle parking facility and stands out with its high-profile gold-colored facade. The engineering and realization of the 18,000 m2 parking building was provided by Continental Car Parks.

"Our mobility needs are changing rapidly. In large cities in particular, more and more voices are calling for the car to be removed from the streetscape," says Erik de Vries, project manager at Continental Car Parks. "But also to give public space back to pedestrians, cyclists, children playing and green spaces. A good solution in this context is to no longer park cars next to or behind each other, but to stack them in strategic places in the neighborhood." Continental Car Parks can help with this. The specialist is conquering the market with its modular mobility hubs, which efficiently combine new and smart forms of mobility with social functions as well as a high-quality appearance.

Lively, social and safe

"Experience shows that our mobility hubs have a positive impact on the streetscape," said De Vries. "This is because removing the car from the streetscape creates space to meet and play. This greatly improves the quality of life in the neighborhood. Moreover, because people can park, shop, drink coffee, dine and pick up their packages in one central location, liveliness, interaction and social control are increased. This makes people feel safer, giving the mobility hub a kind of flywheel effect."

Combination of functions

In mobility hub BinnenDok, all social functions are clustered on the first floor. From commercial spaces to catering facilities and a large bicycle shed, creating a very active plinth. "Only from the second floor is parking set up," says De Vries. "In total, we created five parking levels, with space for 525 cars. The roof is largely filled with solar panels, which generate energy for the adjacent residential buildings. Combined with ample electric charging spots and a green roof terrace, this building will have a central function in the neighborhood." 

Considerable level difference

Continental Car Parks was involved at a very early stage by developer G&S& to work out a feasible and doable plan for the mobility hub in a construction team with G&S&, Orange Investment Managers, heren 5 architecten, JVZ Ingenieurs, DWA Adviseurs, Nieman Raadgevend Adviseurs and Kwirkey. "Thanks to early involvement and cross-fertilization, the project was jointly supported from the start," De Vries says. "This benefited efficiency and quality and soon proved necessary, given the unusual course of the site. The building site contained as much as 1.5 meters of height difference, which made the foundation and first floor layout complex. The commercial areas, catering, sprinkler basement, bicycle storage and connection to the BinnenDok residential building are located on different levels, without visitors experiencing the complexity."

Wink to the past

"The mobility hub received a steel main supporting structure," he says. "To avoid noise and vibration nuisance from the parking floors, all commercial spaces have received individual (box-in-box) construction. This also allows us to guarantee insulation values and watertightness much better." The lower levels of the building are finished with a two-story plinth with masonry piers and large curtain walls in place of the commercial spaces. "Above that, a futuristic aluminum expanded metal façade was realized, which nods to the shipyard's industrial past. The facade is divided into several grids, in which four types of expanded metal are used. The aluminum is anodized in a golden color, which lights up differently from every viewing angle. This makes the facade as vibrant as the building." The mobility hub will be completed by the end of 2023 and will be operated by Apcoa.