The premium on city-centre parking led this housing co-operative to build an underground carpark and use income as cross-subsidy for higher scheme development standards. What littleparking that is provided for residents invents a variation of on-street.

View from north-west corner of the perimeter block towards allocated bays.

Date 2001

Developers Coin Street Community Builders

Architects Haworth Tompkins

Building form 3 and 4 storey orthogonal block with landscaped internal square

Dwelling types townhouses, maisonettes and flats

Density 90 homes to the hectare

Parking 41%

Iroko Housing Co-operative, Coin Street, London SE1

38

Description

Coin Street on London's South Bank is a benchmark for community-ledaffordable housing. So first impressionsof the co-operative's most recentresidential development surprise withmodest parking provision for residentsin 59 mostly large houses, but anunderground car park for thosecommuting to South Bank.

But it is part of a grand plan. The three-side perimeter block has a landscapedsquare with a 260-space car parkbeneath operated by NCP. This doesnot offer free car parking spaces orconcessionary rates to residents.Instead, the income from the car parkcross subsidises the entire freeholdowned by Coin Street CommunityBuilders. It paid for generous spacestandards and specification, and nowmaintains a high-quality public realm on the roads linking the development to other blocks which puts other streetswithin the local authority to shame.

This pleasant street environmentaccommodates two simple controlledparking solutions on the two quieterstreets enveloping the perimeter block.Arranged in two and three bays to the

west, and in end-to-end layby style tothe east, the parking zones are definedby changes of colour, texture, andmaterial. Granite setts separate theprecast concrete paviors leading todwelling entrances, and buff bondedgravel defines the walkways betweenstraightforward blacktop hardstandingsfor unallocated but controlled spaces. On the west side of the site, exposed

aggregate plinths with reconstitutedstone copings and metal railings areintegrated with elaborately detailedbinstores. These bin stores are used on the north side of the block to definepublic and private realm, and againhere they articulate a hierarchy ofpedestrian routes, one between binstore and house more private than theother between car and carriageway.

A

Blank ground floors limit surveillance and depend on upper storeys. Pedestrians face a choice between private or more public route past cars.

39 English Partnerships

Iroko Housing Co-operative, Coin Street, London SE1A On street: right angled to pavement

Inner courtyard over NCP underground. Details make space private but obscure surveillance.

Cross-reference

See also pages 47, 79 and 117

Notes

40

Critical commentaryCentral

Poor parking ratios limit availability of space

Access to vehicles from homes isrestricted by barriers

Limited visual surveillance of cars fromground-floor units

Movement from vehicles to carsencourages active streets

On street: right angled to pavement

A mechanical parking system of tight parallel bays which apartment-dwellers operate using akey card maximises the number of spaces in an underground car park. The system exploitsthe principle that not allocating bays to residents individually increases efficiency.

Apartment blocks located adjacent to Greenwich Power Station.

Date 2004

Developers Berkeley Homes

Architects in house

Building form 4-5 storey block with basement

Dwelling types 1, 2 and 3 bed flats

Density 240 homes tothe hectare

Parking 75%

Merchant's House, Greenwich, London SE10

42

Description

Merchant's House and Piper's House are a pair of brick built buildings givingviews over the river in a part of Londontransformed by two decades of housingdevelopment on largely brownfield sites.There are 86 flats within the two blocks,22 of which are one or two bedroomunits intended for shared ownership.

Piper House has a conventional streetlevel car park finished in blacktop andsheltered under the accommodation;paired bays are arranged betweencolumns, with single access from a remote-controlled shuttered grille.

Merchant's House has a basement levelundercroft car park with single access via a ramp from the street; this is alsoremote-controlled from residents'vehicles. This undercroft has threeparallel rows of car parking, two of whichare arranged end to end with no accessway in between; the third set of bays isapproached conventionally. The end-to-end bays use a distinctive German-builtparking system where 23 individualplatforms can be moved electrically tothe right or left to give access to a row of parking spaces behind. If a vehicleoccupies one of these spaces and a car

parked on one of the sliding platformsobstructs its exit, inserting a numberedplastic key in a centrally located controlpanel shifts the relevant bank of cars.The entire system works faster than thetime taken to describe it, and has thefacility to be operated manually in theevent of power failure. Each platform hasits own motor and servo, with a systemof cogs engaging into slotted steel railsset in the concrete floor.

A

Access to basement car park below 4 and 5-storey blocks. Each platform has its own motor and can be moved manually in case of failure.

43 English Partnerships

Merchant's House, Greenwich, London SE10A Off plot: mechanical, underground

Platforms park cars in tight rows one behind the other. One of 23 individual platforms.

Cross-reference

See also pages 27 and 31

Notes

44

Critical commentaryCentral

2000kg limit to parking platformsprohibits heavier 4x4 vehicles

Despite capacity in basement, lessthan effective space planning has lost opportunity to fit second row of platform parking

Residents with spaces in rowobstructed by sliders may potentiallywait longer to access their vehicles

Unequal column spacing means not all spaces are equally easy to access

Higher capital costs prior to securedsales may deter developer interest

Ongoing maintenance costs implicit in use of platforms

Efficient, space-saving system; popularwith residents because they control it

Off plot: mechanical, underground

High-quality public realm, new housing and commercial premises are reinventing Glasgow'shistorical sink estates as home to a range of incomes. Security issues are addressed with all parking on street, including in wide boulevards, with extensive surveillance over bays.

A block by architects Holmes Partnership showing how deep pavements at block corners are protected.

Date 2003

Developers Crown Street Regeneration Project with various housebuilders

Architects Hypostyle with CZWG

Building form 4 storey perimeterterraces

Dwelling types 2, 3 and 4 bedroom flats and maisonettes; retail units

Density 98 homes to the hectare

Parking ratio 115%

Queen Elizabeth Square, Gorbals, Glasgow

46

Description

Queen Elizabeth Square, an area of up to550 homes, is the second half of a largerredevelopment of the Gorbals collectivelyknown as Crown Street. Historically,tenement flats were set over shops atstreet level with a space in the backswhich the new scheme acknowledges as landscaped zones integral to thecommunity of the buildings (rather than a place to absorb refuse disposal orwashing, as had once been).

The new scheme projects a hard urbanouter edge with homes up to the backline of the pavement, surrounding thesofter, private centre. Car parking isexclusively on street and in QueenElizabeth Square is unallocated afterattempts to allocate in the earlier phasehad met problems. However, about 85% is privately maintained by theregeneration company for residents (but not controlled): granite setts indicatea bay is not adopted.

Bays are arranged in two variations of a classical bay system set at right angles to wider than usual pavements; atcorners in the block plan where there is no parking provision possible, anexceptionally deep pavement results.

The first variation locates vehiclesimmediately within this pavement zone;maisonettes arranged below the twolevels of flats above have a slightly raisedground floor to ensure some privacy. Thesecond version uses a broad boulevarddesign with two rows of cars at rightangles to the road in its landscapedcentre, and carriageways either side.Boulevards run mostly east-west over

the site, or in areas where the geometrysupports this formal model; characteristiccurves to facades elsewhere use thepavement system. Surface materials arepaviors or setts laid to give geometricpatterns. These are supported whereparking is discouraged on thepavement's deep corners with stainlesssteel bollards, adding to the impressionof a high quality robust environment.

A

B

Shadows over bays demonstrate how many homes overlook bays. Staggered properties with French windows and gable lights boost surveillance.

47 English Partnerships

Queen Elizabeth Square, Gorbals, Glasgow A On street: right angled to pavement

Bays, carriage and footpath share surface finish. Pinchpoints help to build defensible space.

Cross-reference

See also pages 39, 79 and 117

Two levels of flats topping maisonettes look onto right angled bays. Traffic-calming raised tables make it easier for drivers to reverse out of bays.

B On street: central reservation

Raised ground floors boost surveillance. Granite setts indicate unadopted bays.

Cross-reference

See also page 51

48

Critical commentary

Some general safety issues associatedwith manoeuvring in and out of spaces

Residents must cross highway toaccess homes

Generally good visual connectionbetween residents and cars

Width of street allows high provision of car parking while contributing tosense of light and space in a highdensity layout

High quality of materials and layout

On street: right angled to pavement

Some general safety issues associatedwith manoeuvring in and out of spaces

Residents must cross highway toaccess homes

Generally good visual connectionbetween residents and cars

Strong integration of soft landscapewith parking solution

Well chosen model complementingstrategic aims of master plan

Good quality materials and detailing

On street: central reservation

Central

A classic 19th century boulevard in West London wide enough for car parking parallel to bothpavement and a central reservation which divides the two carriageways into one-way trafficeither side. Spaces are controlled but unallocated, maximising parking efficiency for residents.

Road proportions mean cars driving along carriage do not come close to doors of those parked up.

Date c1887

Developers not known

Architects not known

Building form 5-storey terraces

Dwelling types 2, 3 and 4 bed flats

Density 250 homes tothe hectare

Parking 95%

Sutherland Avenue, Maida Vale, London W9

50

Description

Maida Vale dates from the early days of English canal mania; records suggestthat main roads in the area were linedwith houses by 1828, and more fullydeveloped following the opening ofPaddington Station in 1854. The present day Sutherland Avenue wasformed as an amalgamation ofSutherland Gardens and StranraerGardens, and built from about 1887.The terraces of high-density, purpose-built apartment blocks are constructed in red brick with white stone dressings(sometimes referred to as 'blood andbandages'), and front onto a wide tree-lined boulevard.

Down the length of Sutherland Avenue is almost uninterrupted on-street, in-lineparking in unallocated residents' bays; in the centre of the road is a narrowreservation along which cars are alsoparked. The mature trees areexceptionally tall and, when in leaf, form a dense screen between thebuilding facades and cars. Parking islimited to residents only, although visitorsmay use the bays in the evenings and at certain times during the weekend.

A

Five storeys of purpose-built apartments mean good surveillance onto cars. Pavement in central reservation is an island for pedestrians.

51 English Partnerships

Sutherland Avenue, Maida Vale, London W9A On street: central reservation, in line with pavement

One way lets drivers park safely to left or right. Shadows from trees hint at shade in summer.

Cross-reference

See also pages 31, 47, 73 and 125

Notes

52

Critical commentaryCentral

62004500 1860 1860 1200 9920 4800

30640

62004500 1860 1860 1200 9920 4800

30640

Unallocated bays mean that residentssometimes park at distance from home

Good visual connection betweenhomes and parking

Maturity of trees offers privacy tohomes; softens bulk of vehicles

High provision of bays not visually apparent

On street: central reservation, in line

Central reservation means some driversmust cross highway to access homes

Movement from car to front doorcreates active streets

1. From about 70 homes to the hectare it becomes impossible to accommodate all car parking on street unless provision is considerably reduced

2. Combine on street parking types with other frontage access parking types and some mews

3. Mechanical and other special parking types (multi-storey, underground and undercroft) are economicin central locations at high densities (see page 11)

4. Do not leave these special parking types exposedto the street at ground level. They form a blank edge to the street and so are best wrapped or sleeved by buildings

5. Off plot parking spaces need to be well lit with a safe route between space and home that is accessible to all

6. Mechanical parking needs a back-up plan

7. Success in parking design relies on careful detailing, lighting and landscaping

Central: rules of thumb

53 English Partnerships