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Brownfield sites


Denise Lloyd

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Hereford has plenty of brownfield sites. They are called car parks and they are slowly sprawling over the city and stifling it as a place to enjoy and live in. As I have said in previous postings car parks should be multi-storey, and with good design, a memorable place to park in.

 

By reducing the size of our car parks by going up this can release land for housing and green areas, providing an incentive for young families to work and play in the city. We have so many car parks, most built on derelict land, that the sites blight or add to the rundown appearance of the city. All this waste land we are told is being held for future development which never seems to materialise, so in the meantime lets turn it into a cash cow.

 

Have a look at these places to park and see how your journey into Hereford could be something to look forward to in starting your day at work or shopping.

 

In a competition to find the world's coolest car park thousands of car parks were involved in an initial worldwide search, with a final shortlist of 10 taken forward and analysed by the expert eyes of Jamie Mitchell, Editor of DesignCurial and Assistant Editor of FX Magazine, and Stress Free Airport Parking co-founder, Dave Greenbrown. The judges deliberated over each car park, scoring on categories such as design, innovation and each building’s relationship with its surroundings. Other comments made included:

 

"the structure wowed the judges with its impressive design and embrace of the community by providing room for public exhibition space and shops".

 

"using a mirror to reflect daylight through a central core, the building impressed judges with its unique lighting solution which they both described as both “stylish and innovativeâ€.

 

"the car park is often referred to as the ‘cheesegrater’ by Sheffield residents due to its unique jagged cubed exterior. The judges recognised the design’s ability to turn a traditional car park shape into a visually striking building".

 

“but as well as being a bold, striking structure, this is also a carefully thought-out, multi-faceted work of architecture that brings together retail, parking and leisure facilities. Much more than a car park, it is now an architectural icon that's beloved of those who use it - there have even been weddings and yoga classes there.â€

 

While most of us still have to settle for parking our cars in utilitarian concrete hulks, the 10 car parks in this shortlist at Stress Free Parking show how imaginative and innovative these buildings can be.

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