Architect and Builder November/December 2015 | Page 37

Communal circulation was also rationalised in that
walking distances to communal facilities are minimal.
Lobby space is modest but incorporates a high level
of finishes with both texture and colour variation.
Views through the 6 storey glass façade elements
ensure a sense of space is achieved within the lobby.
The façades have been designed to be within
the budget with the creative use of simple
office windows combined with dark colours and
texture of Marmoran wall coatings which create
horizontal bands of varying depths to ensure an
upmarket appearance.
CHALLENGES
One of the challenges of this site was the 6m cross
fall. The obvious solution was to use this natural
change in level for the location of the basements
thereby minimising excavation volumes. Control

Ridge 6

rules are such that the typical parking garage
aesthetic is to be avoided as an over awing element
at road level. The solution that was adopted was
to slightly articulate the façade planes and to
interrupt the horizontality by means of double
scale elements comprising louvres/plant climbing
screens. The result was a highly economical solution
which was further complimented by the fact that
this configuration allows natural ventilation to the
basements as opposed to mechanical, thus effecting
large savings and improving the quality of the
basement environment.
The site shape is such that a bulge occurs on
the cul-de-sac and this was used to contain ramp
circulation between the different basement levels.
Ramps are thus not contained within the building
and so achieve a great economy of parking/
area proportions.

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