Extraordinary parking building graces downtown Leidsche Rijn

The building with P+R facilities accommodates 620 vehicles, has three entrances and consists of eight floors with column-free floor fields. Two of these are underground. A commercial space is located on the first floor. BAM Bouw en Techniek - Region Midden was responsible for both construction and installation for the realization of the eye-catcher designed by Zecc Architects.

Berlinplein is part of Leidsche Rijn Center and is located on top of the A2 tunnel trench. The recently completed parking facility was built in a prominent location on the square and also blends in well with its surroundings. Rik Schepers, project manager on behalf of main contractor BAM, explains: "Many buildings in the heart of Leidsche Rijn are characterized by a natural stone plinth with a mixed brick profile above. We continued that line in this project. The building also features a striking tower, giving it an even stronger identity in the neighborhood. Together with the varied brickwork, the facade openings and the special window arrangement, the design refers to a live/work building rather than a parking facility. That's why we refer to it as a parking building, not a parking garage."

During the construction of the unusual building, BAM made extensive use of prefabricated components. For example, the bottom two parking levels below ground level were constructed from hollow wall elements that were filled with concrete. "On top of that, the precast concrete walls, precast columns and steel structure were installed," Schepers explains. "The latter consists of steel beams, SFB girders and steel trusses. In between, we installed large-span hollow-core slabs. As a result, we were able to construct the building column-free. The bearing lines were accommodated by large steel trusses two stories high."

BAM worked out the entire construction work (including installations) in 3D. A choice that made it possible to closely coordinate the structural and installation components used and to tackle any clashes in advance. "As a result, we hardly had any problems during execution and were able to get the job done extremely efficiently," says Schepers.

In addition to its prefabricated character, the brand-new parking building is distinguished by a far-reaching degree of sustainability. In terms of use of materials and in other areas. For example, users can park their vehicles on the top floor under a kind of pergola of solar panels that can be used to charge electric cars. In addition, the roof edge is designed as a large planter. Together with a three-meter-high snipe - an art project conceived by the artist duo BROOS (Pietertje van Splunter and Zeger Reyers) - this planter provides a striking sustainable accent. "Furthermore, green electricity was used as much as possible during construction and we used electric aerial platforms instead of diesel-powered machines," says Schepers. "Last but not least, we sourced most of the required materials from local suppliers. All this has enabled us to perform the work at level 5 of the CO2 performance ladder. Where we had originally put in a step lower, smart action has led to this nice score."