Park & Meet

The challenge was to transform the “multi-storey car park”, which is usually a fairly clear task in terms of design, into an attractive meeting place.

This parking faci­lity at the heart of the TU Delft campus accom­mo­dates 2,100 bicy­cles and is combined with a bicycle work­shop and a coffee faci­lity.

The main chall­enge in the design brief was to trans­form the large bicycle storage into an attrac­tive hangout spot. This was achieved by posi­tio­ning the rela­tively small coffee bar and work­shop into an elon­gated and trans­pa­rent volume on a green slope, rela­ting to the central TU Delft square on one side and the bicycle storage on the other, under­neath a big bicycle deck.

The architects organised what was actually a small coffee bar and workshop into one elongated volume.

This posi­tion gives the buil­ding the appearance of a pavi­lion rather than a storage.  A ‘lazy’ stair towards the entrance of the coffeebar and work­shop also func­tions as a gallery, over­loo­king the square. On top of the coffee bar is the second parkin­glevel canti­le­ve­ring, func­tio­ning as a canopy for the coffee bar.

Several entrances and stairs around the buil­ding gene­rate attrac­ti­vity and acces­si­bi­lity on all sides, invi­ting the ciclyst to come over. The exis­ting trans­former house at the corner is added as a beacon to the design.

The coffee bar is located at 1 meter height, over­loo­king the square and the parking. The height of the ceiling varies, giving the seating area its own accent.

Coffee and Bikes was integrated into the existing embankment. This simplifies accessibility from all sides.

Versa­ti­lity is an important aspect in the design. The grass slope the buil­ding stands on, parti­ally hides the bikes from view and fits the buil­ding into its surroun­dings, making it attrac­tive and acces­sible on all sides. It also prevents people from putting their bike against the façade.

It also hides the bicyles at ground level from view while the cyclist can still look outside freely, giving him a safe feeling. The work­shop is located on ground level with a direct connec­tion to the parking.

Coffee and Bike creates liveliness and communication. Not many car parks can manage that.

The steel cons­truc­tion is based on a grid of 5x6 meters. This grid accom­mo­dates both stan­dard as double layered racks, gene­ra­ting future expan­sion possi­bi­li­ties. The joints that link the column to the beams are stiff, preven­ting cross braces taking up bicycle space. The parapet has its cons­truc­tion on the outside, giving shadow and depth to the façade. The whole struc­ture can be easily dissem­bled.

The archi­tec­ture conforms the vision of TU Delft; the appearance is in accordance with the use and the engi­neers archi­tec­ture is down to earth. The design follows the Chicago tradi­tion of campus buil­dings by Mies van der Rohe in an anodised coffee­brown color. The green window frames give the buil­ding its own character.

 This new bicycle pavi­lion gene­rate liveli­ness an social control at the heart of the TU campus. By desig­ning an all sided buil­ding, provi­ding a spacious place orien­tated to the sun and by posi­tio­ning the coffee bar on the square in an elon­gated shape, a bicycle pavi­lion has been created where one can meet easily and have a plea­sant stay.