23-11-2021 in Administration, Dortmund

The most extraordinary parking garage in Dortmund

"Green dress" for less CO²

Who says that the mobility turnaround will only apply to moving traffic? Parking space is very scarce, especially in urban regions. This makes it all the more sensible if its very design makes a kind of passive but valuable contribution to combating climate change.

And so the “green dress” parking garage, which is planned as part of the expansion of the administration of the Westphalia-Lippe Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVWL), will certainly be one of the most unusual in the whole of Dortmund. The design by SHA Scheffler Helbich Architekten GmbH envisages a steel façade that is to be clad with wooden slats on the outside and completely planted.

Biodegradable and fully recyclable materials are used for the building’s wooden façade. At the same time, the diagonal planting areas and the roof landscape with their planting – tailored to the location – significantly improve the microclimate and increase biodiversity. The slats allow natural lighting and ventilation of the storeys. The parking garage concept thus upgrades the inner-city wasteland into a green, sustainable inner city space with a positive ecological footprint.

“The aim is to respond to the issue of traffic in a responsible and sustainable way with a natural and green façade and a high degree of biodiversity,” explains project manager Jana Hirschhäuser.

“The entire façade is covered in green like a trellis and can convert a large proportion of the_CO2 released in the building into oxygen through photosynthesis. The vegetative diversity makes a valuable contribution to urban ecology and, not least, creates a special identity.”

The parking garage rises in the second row behind the planned office block on the property of Westfalentor GmbH, the old depot of the municipal utilities. The sealing of the surfaces and the number of access roads are minimized by underground traffic routing. The green open space is structured by the footpaths, which help to enliven the entire inner courtyard. The new parking garage will have a total of five floors (one of which is underground) with nine parking levels and 167 parking spaces, which will significantly improve the offer for KVWL employees – and at the same time reduce parking pressure in the neighborhood.

Overall, the concept represents a sustainable response to dealing with stationary individual traffic and contributes to an ecological and design enhancement of the area.

Construction is scheduled to start in spring 2022. By the end of the year at the latest, the “green dress” will attract everyone’s attention.