CAR-PARKS

a
@

Large garage at Siemens

Section

Longitudinal ramp

Transverse ramp

10
t 7 95+7

95+7

9 5 t 5 004

In accordance w l t h t h e regulations applicable t o garages.

small garages are d e f ~ n e das those w l t h ~ 1 0 0 neffective
i ~
area.
m e d l u m garages are those w l t h 100-1000mZ e f f e c t i v e area;
large garages are those w t t h 11000m2 effective area
U n d e r g r o u n d garages are defined as those w t t h the floor level o n average
2 1 . 3 0 m b e l o w t h e surface of the g r o u n d
Separate entrances a n d exits m u s t b e p r o v l d e d for large garages
These garages are n o r m a l l y located close t o p o t n t s of m a j o r t r a f f ~ c
congestion such as railway stattons, airports, s h o p p l n g centres, theatres.
ctnernas, offlce a n d a d m l n l s t r a t l o n blocks a n d large resldentlal b u ~ l d l n g s .
M e d l u m a n d large garages m u s t b e located In e a s ~ l yaccesstble areas.
h a v e a clear h e a d r o o m of 2 . 0 0 m , even b e l o w the m a i n beams, ventllatton
ducts a n d other structural components. O n the g r o u n d floor, thls clear
h e a d r o o m is n o r m a l l y larger, as the space is o f t e n used for other
purposes.
To a c c o m m o d a t e s m a l l transport vehtcles, t h ~ shetght s h o u l d be
2 . 5 0 m . Floor loadlngs m u s t b e In accordance w l t h local standards Open
garages have o p e n i n g s w h i c h cannot b e closed (equal In s12e t o o n e thlrd
of the total area of t h e outslde walls) leadlng dtrectly i n t o the o p e n alc a n d
even
,
d i v i d e d In such a w a y that there ts continuous t h r o u g h - v e n t ~ l a t ~ o n
i n t h e presence of weather screentng.
There 1s a n ingenious e x a m p l e o f a car-park In t h e centre o f Geneva
beneath t h e rlver Rhone. T h e entrance a n d extt p o i n t s are o n t h e
Vehhlcles can easlly fllter In a n d o u t
approaches t o the Rhone brldge +
o f t h e traffic f l o w b y means of access r a m p s o n b o t h sldes. A l l storeys are
accessed b y a rlght-hand drlve u p a central s l o p l n g r a m p
- $
No

. 'cD

staff are necessarv as there are automatic parklng tlcket machlnes In use
Trie L r rer a f o r the q.ral tv o f m..lt storey :ar parks are safzt, n ..sc
r. ear vls D 11) [)ark n g - s p a c e nlarkltlq t o c n a o ~ edr,vers 13 r r l n e m u i r t11c5
ocatton of tne r vnh cles, a n u ntcgrat 011 n t o tnc c s n t i x t o f I.lnrl
p l a n n rig
Other factors t o b e considered are: natural lhghttng a n d ventllatlon.
clear v i e w s t o t h e outside, plants a n d greenery a n d a s l m p l e system o f
collecting charges.

8
Plan view of multi-storey ramped car-park

LO

high water

escape passage
key
out

rnergency e x l t

v e n t ~ l a f ~ oducts
n

u
0

10

15 ZOm

-- - - --- . - .
--

entrances

pedestr~ans
entrances and
exits
emergency exlt

design a n d construc1,on C Zschokke

Under lake car-park in Geneva, Switzerland, Plan view of 1st floor. 372 parking spaces

CAR-PARKS

Banking

Earth wall

-2

T
2 10

Plant cover

Canopy (for sound-proofing)

@)

Roofed over

At a lower level

Examples +
- @ show how parking spaces can be
creatively integrated into their surroundings without
restricting their use. Parking spaces can be completely or
partially sunken or provided with roof planting to increase
Planting not only enhances
the area of open space + 0-0.
the look of the area, but also provides shade and improves
the environment by absorbing dust.
There are various ramp systems for gaining access to
upper and lower floors of car-parks. The gradients of the
ramps should not exceed 15%, or in the case of small
garages 20%. A horizontal run of more than 5 m must be
included between an area carrying general traffic and
ramps with more than 5% gradient. For car ramps the run
must be more than 3 m long, with ramps that can be up to
10% gradient. The options available for the arrangement
and design of ramps can be summarised under four main
headings 0- 0:
(1) straight, parallel and continuous multi-storey ramps with
intermediate landings, with separate ramps for up and
down traffic located at opposite ends +
(2)sloping floors, with a full width ramp with no loss of
space. The entire car-park structure consists of sloping
levels. A space-saving system is shown r @ - 0with a
gradient of more than 6%;
(3) offset half storeys (D'Humy ramps); parking areas are
offset half storeys, height is gained by the use of short
rampso-@and
(4) spiral ramps - a relatively expensive design which lacks
good visibility. The circular shape makes poor use of
remaining areas + @ - @ and + @ and @. Spiral ramps
must have a transverse gradient of more than 3%. The
radius of the edge of the inner lane must be more than 5m.
In large garages where special pedestrian routes are not
provided, the ramps that are used by both vehicles and
pedestrians must have a raised pavement at least 80cm
wide. Medium-sized and large garages must have the
following minimum width of lanes at entrances and exits:
3 m when used by vehicles up to 2 m wide;
3.5m when used by wider vehicles.

a-@;

Multi-storey structure with

full ramps

Full ramps, no loss of space

Gradient 56%

Plan view

-,

Plan view

Half-storey ramp car-park

(D'Humy system)

Plan view

Spiral ramp ear-park

Plan view + @. The

smaller the ramp radius,
the wider the lane

Separate circular towers for

ramps a t the corners

@ Plan

view

+a-@;

13% gradient

Dovetailing of storeys

Basic forms of D'Humy ramp

Ramps have 13-15% gradient

Spiral ramp, adjacent up and

down lanes

Double spiral ramps,

superimposed up and down
lanes

access lane

access lane

CAR-PARKS
" \

Poss!ble column positions.

parkang at 90" to access lane

0
2

Parking at 450 to access lane

0%

road

.. .

All the load bearing components of multistorey car-parks (floors,

walls, support columns, bracing) m u s t be fire-resistant. Garages
o p e n t o t h e air m u s t be o f fire retardant d e s ~ g n . The
recommended clearance height in multistorey and basement
garages is 2.20m. It is sensible t o allow an extra 25cm for
directional signs for drivers and pedestrians. A further 5 c m is
required for subsequent repair coats t o the wearing surface.
giving a total mean height of 2.50m, plus structures above the
access lanes, which means a height per storey of 2.75-3.50m.
depending u p o n the choice of design. A relat~velynarrow column
grid pattern can, w i t h careful planning and design, reduce
building costs and height without any loss of function 4
+2
1.
Long span structures w i t h n o columns take u p 7-12% less floor
area than those w i t h conventional support columns + @.
Gradients and ramps m u s t be appropriately shaped and
designed + @. Straight or spiral parking ramps are constructed by
sloping the floor. With a spiral shape 4 @, y o u can have veh~cles
o n both sides of the ramp. In @ it can be seen that the area
required for a given number o f cars t o be parked, including the
area required for manoeuvring, can be determined at t h e
preliminary design stage. Layouts of multistoried garages and
arrangements of ramps are shown +
These include t w o offset
double rows of parked vehicles, four rows, six rows, parking in a
corner, ramps i n the direction o f traffic, a multistorey car-park w i t h
ramps and finally one w i t h parking o n a continuous helical ramp.
Reinforced concrete structures ( w i t h concrete mixed o n site,
pre-cast sections o r h y b r i d construction) best meet t h e
requirements for fire protection. As a rule, steel structures provide
the main and subsidiary support systems and m u s t be protected
f r o m fire w i t h concrete, fire resistant cladding or other fireproofing coatings. In garages, high loads should be allowed for, i n
addition t o permitted superimposed loads of m o t o r veh~clesof
3.5kN/m2, and of ramps 5kN/m2. Roofs w i t h gardens o n t o p have
t o be designed for a loading of 10kN/m2.

a.

+5W+>4Wi
B i s ~ m p l e rdeslgn n c l u d ~ n gs t r a ~ g h truns

Change of gradient on ramps

area
I"

($

"72

Possible positions of columns

10

12

14

16

18 20

22

24

26

28

30

number of v e h ~ c l e s

With smaller radius of

ramps, larger lane widths

iour rows

two offset sets

of

two rows

Spiral parking ramp

s x raws

Plan views and arrangement of ramps

rtght angled layout

ramps

In d r e c t i o n of t r a f f c

Area required for parking spaces, including room for

manoeuvring

r n u l t ~ s t o r e yc a r p a r k

w ~ t hramps

wlth s p l r a l ramps