'Today's parking garage is social, smart and fully circular'

Building well and better, with attention to sustainability, circularity and the environment. But also liveable building, so that residents can once again be proud of their neighborhood and social cohesion is promoted. According to that ambition, Continental Car Parks, part of Aan de Stegge Twello, has been designing, building and maintaining modular, energy-neutral parking garages, parking decks and mobility facilities for twenty years. The specialist from Gelderland is currently conquering the market with its mobility hubs, which efficiently combine new and smart forms of mobility with social functions and a high-quality appearance.

"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," notes Jeroen Drenth, commercial director of 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. This also creates opportunities to share cars."

Holy cow is on the decline

"The car used to be a kind of sacred cow," according to Drenth. "Everyone saved up for their own car. From the late '80s, early '90s, many families even added a second car. Today, however, the car has become more of an article of use and a reverse movement is occurring. Parking garages are increasingly empty, now that many people have discovered the advantages of, for example, shared cars, electric bicycles and high-quality public transportation." A third and final trend involves the rise of the electric car, for which charging points are desirable. "Incorporating facilities for this as well, in combination with PV panels, for example, soon creates an energy-neutral or even energy-positive parking facility from which the surrounding area can also reap the benefits."

Flexible response to changing mobility needs

For the construction of parking garages, Continental Car Parks offers various building systems that focus on demountable and circular construction. "Ever since our founding, we have been designing and building modular parking facilities that are easy to convert into living and working space or bicycle parking," Drenth said. "Moreover, we mostly work with elements that - in both the short and long(er) term - can easily be dismantled and rebuilt in another location. If no new destination is found, the loose building components can be reused in the chain. In this way, we can respond very flexibly to changing mobility needs and avoid situations like the one in De Bijlmer, for example."

Embraced by the environment

Amsterdam's Bijlmer was built in the 1960s as "the model neighborhood for modern man. "Colossal parking garages were added to the neighborhood, which over the years became a burden for both the municipality and residents. We want to prevent this by designing and building modular facilities that are embraced by the neighborhood and of which residents can be proud. A good urban integration and a friendly and transparent appearance are essential for this. Moreover, we add value by focusing on multiple use. Combining the parking facilities with a coffee shop, restaurant, small supermarket or gym in the plinth creates liveliness, conviviality and social control," says Drenth. "With a soccer field, playground, vegetable garden, park or combination thereof on the roof, we are also doing our bit for the landscape integration and nature-inclusive city. We offer a nice green place for residents, who experience all the benefits but not the burdens. But also a place where local flora and fauna can recover. Finally, thanks to the roof garden, undesirable effects of climate change, such as heat stress and flooding, are reduced."

Following the philosophy of the "mobility hub," Continental Car Parks is currently building a parking facility in Haarlem, with a restaurant in the plinth. "In The Hague's Binckhorst district, we are also making a combination with live-work studios on the first floor and a roof garden for residents. On the NDSM wharf in Amsterdam, we are building a parking garage with commercial spaces, a bicycle shed, a restaurant and a roof garden, giving the building a central function in the multifunctional city district."

Now also in wood

Traditionally, Continental Car Parks builds its mobility hubs in steel, concrete or a combination thereof. Recently, a new building system has been added: wood, which Drenth says is a very powerful material in the path to a sustainable and circular future. "Wood is responsible and sustainable, as well as being cuddly and soft. Thanks to the material, another dimension is added to the mobility hub, which the entire neighborhood can enjoy and be proud of. Not for nothing are the first projects with this material now in the pipeline."