Special Projects Award: The Common, Hatfield

British Parking Awards 2021

Stewart Clure of category sponsor DRP with Richard Baker, Ka Ng, Rachael Walsh and Duncan Bell of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, Brian Bradshaw of Bourne, Tony Kingsbury of WHBC, Karl Butters, Ivan Vukovic and Diane Wightwick of Bourne, and Marcus Brigstocke

Stewart Clure of category sponsor DRP with Richard Baker, Ka Ng, Rachael Walsh and Duncan Bell of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, Brian Bradshaw of Bourne, Tony Kingsbury of WHBC, Karl Butters, Ivan Vukovic and Diane Wightwick of Bourne, and Marcus Brigstocke

A Hertfordshire local authority has celebrated its place in aviation history by creating a town centre car park whose exterior features panels depicting aircraft in the style of Airfix kits. Bourne Parking was appointed by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council to provide a full turnkey solution which included developing and securing planning permission for a new multi storey car park at The Common, Hatfield.

Development proposals within Hatfield town centre are influenced by a number of key considerations. The influence of the Hatfield House over the town is a key factor in new developments within the town centre but the location of the car park meant it was screened from the Tudor mansion. This meant the elevational concept of the building could reflect the more recent history of the aviation industry and the effect that it had on the town.

The façade and setting of the car park were developed by BrightSpace Architects working with English Heritage and Bourne Parking’s in-house design team. “Many people would have worked on the aerodrome designing and manufacturing planes that have become iconic,” says BrightSpace. “There still remains a sense of pride that Hatfield was such an intrinsic part of some significant leaps forward in aviation history and to clad the new car park in something that can reference this heritage seems befitting.”

The car park’s façade presents a series of iconic de Havilland aircraft such as the Tiger Moth biplane, all-wooden Mosquito bomber and Vampire jet. The panel design takes parts of the iconic designs and composes them in a format that evokes model plane kits. Perforated metal sheet with variations in the hole size have been used to create the patterns, while the solid elements of cladding are intended to act a reference to the language of the riveted panels and metal finishes. “The panels help to add a sense of fun and assists in the clarity of understanding in the use of the pattern,” explains the architect.

Bourne’s scope as main contractor included the sub-structure, below ground drainage, new grade level surfacing, Montex structure, vehicle barriers, top deck waterproofing, above ground drainage, white lining, a precast concrete stair core, an open steel framed stair tower, M&E and landscaping. he parking layout was developed on a flat deck parking configuration with external ramp and provided 420 spaces (including 18 disabled spaces, 10 parent & child spaces, and eight electric vehicle charging bays) across ground floor and three suspended decks.