New Stage Starting In Parking Building

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30498, 21 July 1964, Page 14

New Stage Starting In Parking Building

A start will be made with the aboveground structure of the biggest pre-stressed, pre-cast concrete building in Canterbury when the first columns are erected in the new City Council parking building in Gloucester street today.

The building, which will be almost about 240 ft by 120 ft with five parking decks, will be almost entirely constructed with pre-stressed units, all of which are factory pre-cast for maximum speed and ease of construction by crane. More than 1000 pre-stressed concrete units are being precast for the job at the Blenheim road plant of Certified Concrete (Christchurch) Ltd. They include 800 concrete planks for the parking decks. Each of these planks will be 23ft by 4ft Bin but, because of the high strength-to-bulk ratio provided by the prestressing process, they will be only seven inches deep. All the units are reinforced by high-tensile steel wire stressed in the process of casting. Then the units are hoisted into position and strung together with more hightensile cables. The result is a quickly-built, earthquakeadjusted structure. Pile driving has been done without interruption on the site, and a large number of units have been stock-piled at the Blenheim road plant. Much will be seen on the site in the next few days. The big columns will go the full height of the building. With the beams hoisted between them, the massive frame of the building will soon take shape. Conventional concrete will be used for the lift tower. This will house a passenger lift for motorists to reach their parked cars before driving out by ramp. Yard-Thick Beams

To take the great weight of the car decks when fully loaded. some of the giant beams will be more than three feet deep and 60ft In span. The columns will be about 2ft by Ift 6in and will be supported by more than 200 concrete piles already driven on the site.

The building, which will take 380 cars, is designed for fast in-and-out access by ramps from Gloucester street and Manchester street. The car decks will be open, with railings round the greater part. There will be uncovered car space on the roof; The height of the building will be about 50ft, with a lift tower of 70ft.

The architect is Mr A. Allison, the City Architect, the

structural engineer is Mr I. L. Holmes, and the contractor is M. L. Paynter, Ltd. The building will have men’s and women’s conveniences on the ground floor as well as ticket-issuing equipment and offices.

Parking for M.E.D. and other council vehicles will be provided in the basement of the building. When parking, the car driver will obtain a ticket from a vending machine. The one being considered registers the time when .the vehicle enters the building. When the motorist comes back for his car, he presents the ticket and pays a charge assessed on the time the vehicle has been parked. The motorist presents the ticket to an attendant on reaching the correct floor to collect the car.