Bo-Kaap, Cape Town

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We were approached by a firm of Consulting Engineers to propose an automated parking solution for their project.

Their existing plans for the building were as follows:

3½ basement levels with parking;
2 retail/office levels;
15 residential apartment levels;
±326 parking bays are required for the building.

We were briefed as follows:

To propose a suitable solution with costs that would reduce the space needed for parking and thus the extent/depth of the basement. The feasibility for the installation would be based solely on the saving made by reducing the amount of excavation required on site.

Utilizing our new modular automated technology we presented two possible options:

Option 1:

One entrance/exit on the same side street;
Conventional parking on Ground for 21-22 vehicles - possibly for Retail (if required, additional Retail parking in the automated section - randomly allocated by the system);
10 entrances/exits on Ground to the automated parking below;
±307 vehicles in the automated section below Ground - dependent on column placement;
Motorcycle/bicycle parking on Ground;
Stepped excavation to reduce excavation depth;
Cars rotated to face forward before retrieval;
The option of a mobile phone app to interface with the system, allowing users to queue their cars remotely, thereby further speeding up retrieval once on site;
Stepped excavation: 3.10m, 7.90m, 9.60m.

Total parking: ±328 vehicles.

Option 2:

One entrance/exit on the same side street;
Conventional parking on Ground for 21-22 vehicles - possibly for Retail (if required, additional Retail parking in the automated section - randomly allocated by the system);
10 entrances/exits on Ground to the automated parking below;
±437 vehicles in the automated section below Ground - dependent on column placement;
- Each additional layer below the existing system adds a further ±150 vehicles.
Motorcycle/bicycle parking on Ground;
Excavation: ±9.5m below Ground throughout;
Cars are rotated to face forward before retrieval;
The option of a mobile phone app to interface with the system, allowing users to queue their cars remotely, thereby further speeding up retrieval once on site;
Excavation: 9.40m.