Parking facility “P23” in the Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam Zuidoost is the best European parking facility based on comfort, safety, aesthetic beauty, innovative design and ecological aspects – according to the German foundation ‘Lebendige Stadt’ (vibrant city).

Every year, the foundation reviews inner-city projects, facilities or concepts characterised by innovative design or form of management that also serve as model projects in ecological terms. Their objective is to promote best practice examples that can serve as models for other municipalities, making costefficient solutions for project implementation and operation particularly important.

The award comprises a cash prize of € 15,000 and this year’s theme was ‘Parking in sensitive city locations’, for which a total of 70 European parking projects registered. P23 is owned by ING Real Estate, designed by the Dutch architect agency Rijnboutt Van der Vossen Rijnboutt and operated by Q-Park. P23 has 600 parking spaces, opened in March 2006 and has a direct connection with a supermarket next door.

Note from the architects.

Key consideration for material choices were sustainability and contribution to a safe social environment. The remarkably high stairwells, for example, provide daylight right up to the parking deck, while at the same time at night they act as illuminated beacons in their surroundings. For the end wall, under the traffic deck, coated steel louvers were used and for the longitudinal wall under the traffic deck, brickwork in a subtle dark stone.

The use of perforated plates in the entrances to the access ramps creates a lively play of light, influenced by a continually changing incidence of light; from the outside, from the inside and by the headlights of the cars entering and leaving. The substructure of the oval pavilion referred to, which has a hotel, restaurant and cafe function, has been erected in a blue glazed stone in tile bond.

The sides of the access ramps from the deck are clad with 2-sided coated corrugated sheeting and the stairwells with aluminium curtain walls. The floor was finished in anthracite with a concrete clinker coloured light grey and dark grey. The appearance of the garage is to form a connection, artistically, with the large diversity of cultures populating this urban district. The entrance gates of the access ramps, which are made from perforated aluminium sheeting, have been provided with photographic images. These photos have been taken by Kees Hummel of participants of the workshops of Imagine IC, an organisation devoted to the representation of the identity of cultures that are housed in the immediate vicinity.

About Q-Park

Q-Park is ranked in the top three of European parking companies, who own, manage and operate parking facilities. Q-Park is the recognised leader in quality parking, has a portfolio of over 600,000 parking spaces and offices in The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

For questions please contact:

Q-Park NV

Ward Vleugels

Chairman of the Board

cmc@q-park.com