A spectacular 1,200-meter-long work of light art

On the Noorderhelling in Rotterdam, near the Kuip, a Gamma and a P+R garage are coming together in one building. It is the lighting that will soon make the spectacular difference from any other P+R garage. It can relay messages, change color and even light up when Feyenoord scores. "As if the parking decks are cheering along," says architect Wim de Bruijn.   

With the construction of P+R garage Noorderhelling, the municipality of Rotterdam kills two birds with one stone. The current Gamma, now located on the center spot of the future Feyenoord stadium, has a new home. In addition, the municipality of Rotterdam has gained a P+R garage for visitors to De Kuip and the city of Rotterdam. The Gamma will be located on the first floor; above it rises the three-deck parking garage with 500 parking spaces.

Outreach and visibility

The design of the P+R garage had architect Wim de Bruijn on paper relatively quickly. The open construction of floors, railings and ramps is stereotypical for a parking garage. The challenge was in the accessibility and visibility of the building. "We were dealing with two large volumes, in which a symbiosis still had to be established. At the same time, the buildings also had to be visible separately and each had its own distinctive entrance." 

Dimmable

De Bruijn found the solution by wrapping illuminated railings around the building like a ribbon. This created a spectacular 1,200-meter-long work of light art that can be played with every evening and night. De Bruijn: "A wave, the Dutch flag, a rainbow: anything is possible." To avoid nuisance from the lighting, the lights are dimmable and not installed on the side of the Sportdorp neighborhood. The Gamma got the entrance on one side of the building, the P+R garage on the side of streetcar stop Noorderhelling. A light tower acts as an additional directional marker for the two buildings.

Time pressure squared

Then the architectural firm was able to look into the realization of the design. "The planning became our next challenge. In January 2022, the Gamma has to move to make way for the construction of the new stadium. This left only a year to realize the entire building. Within this time frame, the permit process had to be completed, the infrastructure arranged for a difficult site - the legs are almost on the building lines - and the piling and foundations had to take into account a number of former oil wells. Add to this the perils of the corona crisis - such as working from home instead of sitting around the table to get the complex permits done - and it will be clear that this was no sinecure."

A serious challenge

De Vries en Verburg Bouw had to deal with that same race against the clock. "Partly for this reason, we replaced the concrete structure of the original design with a structure of concrete and steel," says Johan van der Velde, project manager at De Vries en Verburg Bouw. "This allowed us to work faster and more efficiently. However, decisions like this work through. It creates new nodes in the design. In order to gain maximum insight into these, we first worked out the new construction in 3D. In January 2021, we started the piling and foundation work - a total of 14 weeks - and then the concrete/steel construction - a total of 15 weeks. It was a serious challenge."

Forward sloping facade cladding

The perforated facade cladding that was combined with the lighting was mounted at a slight angle. At the bottom, the panels touch the façade; at the top, the sheets slope slightly forward. "In order to get a good picture of the details here as well, we also worked out the cladding in 3D. The assembly of the panels was performed by a specialist in this field." 

Limited construction site

Then only the problem of the limited construction site remained. On one side the construction site borders the tramway, on the other side the busy Stadionweg. "Because the space for the large equipment was lacking, we raised the building from the inside, until we could stand on one side in the parking lot of the Gamma. It looks like we are going to meet the deadline. Right now the final façade panels and parking system floors are being installed. At the Gamma, the installations will be completed and then we can move on to the site layout."

"It's beautiful project. The combination of a parking garage and this spectacular lighting make this building a special, a futuristic appearance. This is what you as a contractor want to put your name to."