SECC & Hydro Arena Car Park, Glasgow
Located in close proximity to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, and the newly completed SSE Hydro auditorium, the Multi Storey Car Park forms a central hub for these two entertainment facilities with walkways linking the facilities together.
The car park is owned by Canada Life Ltd, who invested £23m into the building and lease the facility to the council owned City Parking on a 35 year lease. Completed in 2013 by SCC Ltd, under a Design and Build contract the car park utilises SCC’s patented car park system, and at the time was the third facility to do so.
The elevations are clad in Proteus HR Solid Rainscreen panels and Proteus SC Perforated Screen cladding, with materials to complement the already established Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. The main elevations are clad with a Marine Grade Mill Finished Aluminium, as used on the SECC, but with a distinctive bespoke perforated pattern. The Proteus SC panel support system was designed with vertical mullions spanning floor to floor, removing the need for secondary steel work and structural supports, which assisted the design team in complex geometry areas like the spiral car ramps. The design process at all times remained focused on ensuring that no fixings were visible or accessible from within the car park and that all sight lines remained as clean as possible.
The entrances and main stair towers form solid entrance and protective areas for the car park users and are clad with a Proteus HR solid rainscreen panel system finished with a Tata Colorcoat Prisma Steel RAL 9006 finish. The Proteus HR rainscreen panels had an increased aluminium honeycomb core thickness to provide single spans up to 4000mm, large single spans were required due to remedy issues with the supporting structure.
Visually a striking building which complements the distinctive cladding of the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre during the day and as the three facilities illuminate during the night they become a landmark on the Glasgow skyline.