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Article from issue 3/2000 »Glass Construction«

Parking Stack in Sindelfingen

documentation p. 420 - 423
Architect Petry + Wittfoht Architekten | Structural Engineer Kannemacher, Rath, Sturm |

Drafts
Ground floor plan/Section 1:500
Horizontal section through facade 1:20
Site plan 1:5000
Vertical section through facade 1:20

The refurbishment of a large empty administration building in this car-manufacturing town led to a shortage of parking space. Various alternatives were explored, and a solution was finally found in the form of an automatically operated stacking system – on seven decks above ground and two below. In this way, space was provided for 124 vehicles in a structure with a footprint of only 315 m2. The prefabrication of a large part of the building components also led to cost savings and a shorter period of construction – factors that persuaded the client to adopt this relatively expensive solution. (Cost per parking space: roughly DM40,000.) By inserting a magnetic smart card, drivers can open one of the red gates on the access face and leave their carson a pallet. The car is then automatically measured by sensors and slid vertically and horizontally to the next free parking space. The reverse process occurs when the driver returns. One of the main attractions of the building is the mechanical stacking operation, which is visible on all faces. A single-glazed skin bearing the address “Posenerstrasse1” provides protection against the elements.
The skin is suspended from the structural columns that support the decks, but it has a different articulation from that of the load-bearing grid. The panes of obscured glass over the access and exit gates also stress this arresting asymmetrical quality, which makes the building a fascinating urban object in a dreary industrial area.