Parking
Improved parking
The West Sussex market town
of Horsham is undertaking
the multi-million-pound
redevelopment of Piries Place, an
important town centre location for both its
daytime and evening economies.
Including a three-screen Everyman
cinema, a Premier Inn hotel and a range
of new restaurants and retail outlets, the
scheme also includes a distinctive five-level
multi-storey car park.
Meanwhile, forming one of the initial
parts of the University of Brighton’s
expansion programme for its Moulescoomb
campus, a new multi-storey car park is
under construction that will provide 550
spaces for staff and visitors on six-levels
(see Box).
According to main contractor Kier, the
delivery of the car parks has involved some
successful partnering with the company’s
subcontractors.
“No partnering works effectively without
trust and honesty from all parties and it
is vital to honour these agreements made
in the early stages of a project,” says Kier
Construction Design Manager Charley
Latimer.
“When Horsham District Council and
University of Brighton invited Kier to
tender for their respective new car parks, it
was evident that the best way forward was
a steel-framed and metal deck solution and
to bring in Caunton Engineering as part of
our bid proposals.”
As part of the bids, Kier and Caunton
put together some options for the clients to
review. According to Kier, Caunton’s design
team rose to the challenge and turned
around a full 3D model with circulation
and bays identified in less than 48 hours.
This collaborative early engagement
demonstrated to the respective clients
that both Kier and Caunton understood
their needs and were fully committed
to providing a high level of service and
collaboration.
Caunton’s input into the bid stage
provided invaluable knowledge and
support. “By having Caunton at the table
with the wider design team enabled
swift value engineering options, design
development, coordination, production of
the planning application information and
RIBA stage 4 contractor’s proposals,” adds
Charley Latimer.
HNW Architects Director Steve Duffy
adds: “Agreeing a set of design principles
for all disciplines, including the main
contractor, to develop at the very earliest
stage is a great example of design and
build, which relies on involving key design
partners from the start.”
Piries Place Car Park is a new build to
replace the outdated and challenging town
centre car park, providing 519 spaces,
public toilets and baby change, green walls
and improved public security all within the
existing building footprint.
Initially, a reinforced concrete design was
the option for the car park, but this did not
provide Horsham with the right solution
Two steel-framed car parks in Sussex are forming integral
elements of large developments that will reshape a town centre
and a university campus.
FACT FILE
Piries Place Car Park,
Horsham
Main client:
Horsham District
Council
Architect:
HNW Architects
Main contractor:
Kier Regional Building
Southern
Structural engineer:
Gyoury Self
Steelwork contractor:
Caunton Engineering
Steel tonnage: 600t
22 NSC
May 19
Metal decking was
chosen as the most
cost-effective solution
for Piries Place Car
Park
Visualisation of the
completed Horsham
car park
/Leisure_buildings#Theatres_and_auditoria
/Residential_and_mixed-use_buildings#Hotels
/Car_parks
/Construction
/Braced_frames
/Design
/Single_storey_industrial_buildings#Design_.26_Build
/Single_storey_industrial_buildings#Design_.26_Build