A parking building is a big necessity nowadays, especially in the city center, so there would be fewer cars on the streets because the urban space belongs to pedestrians. But, in general, this typology is associated with a massive and unexpressive building. Furthermore, regulations regarding load-bearing elements have become more severe nowadays, Sfântu Gheorghe is in an area with a higher risk of seismic activities, and also fire safety rules are firm. But we took these challenges as an opportunity to give the city a new, functional parking building, which can be used comfortably by cars and pedestrians as well, but that also has a contemporary aesthetic.
Designing an underground building would have meant increased expenses for the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing equipment, and for a particular waterproofing system that is required due to the groundwater pressure. But this allowed us to design an open, ventilated, and full-of-light building. It was the client’s request to have two ramps and wider parking spaces, with a reinforced concrete frame structure with fewer columns than usual. All this furthers the comfortable use of the interior.
The 11 000 sm building has a total of 194 parking spaces, a large storage at the basement level, and a 2 200 sm area for open-air sports activities on the rooftop: fitness, teqball, and football. For this space, we tried to offer users maximum comfort, by being able to access it by elevator, and designing locker rooms with bright interiors and fresh air, provided by skylights and a ventilation system with heat recovery. Our main objective was to rewrite the memory of those dark locker rooms with their unpleasant smells. Now those who come to practice a sport have a enjoyable experience not only on the field but before and after as well.
There was a battle in our office on how to “tame” a building of such a size and particular function close to the city center. The “bigness” of the building cannot be hidden, but it can be changed in how it is perceived. The ground-floor shops and bus stops bring the street to life. The metal canopy along the street façade creates a vertical barrier between pedestrians and the rest of the building with the emptiness of the parking floors. It brings the space to a human scale, making it more welcoming for those waiting for the bus who are at the same time protected from sun, rain, or snow.
On the rear of the building, we proposed two green façades with climbing plants, which create a transition between the parking building of a larger size, and the small neighboring houses. In the interior, the plants will create a playful effect with light and shadow.
The building needs to be open because of fire safety regulations but closed for aesthetics reasons – to minimize the unpleasant feeling of an empty, unfinished structure. In this way, the use of perforated panels provides partial closure but keeps the construction ventilated. They offer coverage that from its side makes it to be perceived as completely enclosed, the way it will mostly be viewed like.
A touch of color for the façades would have given it a more pleasant feeling, but metal painting is not durable, and we go only for good quality finishes. However, we kept a colorful interior, with each parking level having a different painting shade on the walls. In this way, the environment will be more pleasant and will help with mobility.
We had the chance to be part of the urban planning project for the road network nearby, where their technical knowledge was consolidated by our architectural vision. We worked on the ergonomic aspects and the functional links between roads – sidewalks – bicycle tracks and the newly designed building.
We hope that this project will have a positive impact on the life of citizens by solving an important issue – the lack of parking spaces – by designing a building with well-thought-out interior and exterior spaces.
